Bad LieutenantYou have to wonder just how someone can sink as low as they have. Was it sudden? Was it gradual? What happens when they are confronted with innocence? Bad Lieutenant is a bleak and cynical neo-noir crime movie about the eponymous "Bad Lieutenant" (Harvey Keitel)--credited as "LT"--who lives up to his namesake and then some. Although we're stuck with LT as our protagonist, make no mistake: he is no hero...not even an anti-hero! LT is a maniac, pure and simple; but Keitel's performance suggests that he wasn't always this way. Like Saul on the road to Damascus, Jesus (Paul Hipp) reveals himself to LT while the cop is "investigating" the rape of a nun. Can LT be saved? Can he be forgiven?
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Abel Ferrara's body of work has always navigated the cesspool of urban corruption and depravity, of crime and criminals--the darkness in men's hearts brought vividly to the surface in all of its grotesqueness. Bad Lieutenant could be the capstone to the filmmaker's movies, exemplifying virtually all of the tropes upon which he has built his signature style. LT is unlikable from the start, and it only gets worse...much worse. Driving his kids to school after they missed the bus, we could all sympathize at his dearth of patience. But when he starts dropping heavy profanities, the pause in speech from his two boys mirrors ours. LT is no father of the year. Reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange, the movie hits you with both barrels of obscenity right in the face. Unlike Kubrick's social satire, it almost never lets up, not for a moment. At the scene of a double homicide, the camera track's LT's line of sight to ogle the breasts of one of the corpses. Instead of discussing the killings, he and his fellow cops discuss bets on a baseball game between the Mets and the Dodgers--a running refrain through Bad Lieutenant that underscores LT's impending doom and his escalating tension. LT bets more than he can afford, and in such a self-destructive way that it's impossible not to see how Bad Lieutenant must have influenced contemporary neo-noirs like Uncut Gems; they could be cousins. He abuses his position as a cop by default and at every possible turn. A pair of black youths are accused by an Asian grocer of stealing five hundred dollars from the register. LT cuts through the bickering by pulling out his gun and firing it a hair's breadth from one of the kid's head, directs the beat cop to take the grocer to the station for a statement, then demands the stolen money from the kids (they did steal it) and pockets it for himself. Then, he helps himself to some snacks in the store. And this is, perhaps, one of the least egregious of his sins. Others include compelling a pair of young (probably underage) girls to simulate oral sex while he pleasures himself while threatening to "take them in" and "call their dads" if they don't comply. He does copious drugs of all sorts, often with his drug buddy, Zoe (Zoë Lund). What little break we have from LT isn't any better, since it comes by way of the graphic rape of the aforementioned nun (Frankie Thorn) by two Hispanic youths. Nothing is good in this New York City.
In a traditional crime movie, the subplot about the nun would become the story's focus, galvanizing a character like LT to summon up what little humanity left within him to fulfill the responsibilities of his job and deliver justice. Bad Lieutenant deliberately sidesteps this cliché, yet invites introspection from LT after he tries to understand the nun's forgiveness of her assailants. For a self-serving monster like LT, the idea that someone could forgive such a terrible crime is incomprehensible. Whether he's working (a rarity) or just eavesdropping on the nun's confession of her forgiveness for the thrill of it, none can say--but this knowledge sits with LT like a brick after he hears it. LT simultaneously critiques the Catholic Church yet identifies himself as a Catholic in the same breath. He's no altruist, nor a man of faith. When he first sees the nun recovering in the hospital, he spies on her probably just because she's not wearing any clothing at the time. Once he finally brings himself to the church to ask for descriptions of the rapists--so that he can deliver justice to them outside of the law, or so he says--she still refuses to share. After this, LT experiences a vision of the crucified Jesus watching him, and he unleashes his inner angst--his doubts, his fears, his rage--in a profanity-laden cry. It's interesting that LT is such a screw up and corrupt liar, yet carries this religious aspect within himself. It recalls his performance in Mean Streets, although he has more in common with Johnny Boy than Charlie. It is to Keitel's credit that he manages to convey both malice and vulnerability at the same time. LT loses control at the drop of a hat, actually shooting his radio in public while he's driving as he hears the results of a baseball game he's put money on, turning on his siren to play it off as a work-related incident. In more than one instance, he emits an animal-like whine from between his gritted teeth, as though his very existence is threatening to pull itself apart. Is this an existential doubt, or the presence of Jesus trying desperately to reveal Himself to LT? The conclusion of Bad Lieutenant--in keeping with the rest of the film--defies expectation. Once LT discovers the identities of the rapists (by essentially random chance or serendipity, again, who can say), one might expect the movie to end in a fashion reminiscent of Taxi Driver (another film with Keitel). And yet, LT's actions toward the rapists is so mind-boggling yet imbued with a kind of warped logic, that it can't help but come off as inevitable from this rolling force of chaos that is our protagonist. The final coda of Bad Lieutenant is open to some interpretation, but to me, it comes off as though it is saying that salvation is a two-way street. That it isn't enough to believe--you have to behave, or you are doomed. And LT is, was, and will always be doomed.
Recommended for: Fans of a dark and gritty crime film, delivering an unvarnished and shocking portrayal of a true "bad lieutenant" and a man who has sunken so low that any hope of redemption may be nil. Bad Lieutenant is exceptionally graphic and replete with mature content, fully earning its NC-17 rating. This movie is hard and mean, so don't expect any softening of the content here.
In a traditional crime movie, the subplot about the nun would become the story's focus, galvanizing a character like LT to summon up what little humanity left within him to fulfill the responsibilities of his job and deliver justice. Bad Lieutenant deliberately sidesteps this cliché, yet invites introspection from LT after he tries to understand the nun's forgiveness of her assailants. For a self-serving monster like LT, the idea that someone could forgive such a terrible crime is incomprehensible. Whether he's working (a rarity) or just eavesdropping on the nun's confession of her forgiveness for the thrill of it, none can say--but this knowledge sits with LT like a brick after he hears it. LT simultaneously critiques the Catholic Church yet identifies himself as a Catholic in the same breath. He's no altruist, nor a man of faith. When he first sees the nun recovering in the hospital, he spies on her probably just because she's not wearing any clothing at the time. Once he finally brings himself to the church to ask for descriptions of the rapists--so that he can deliver justice to them outside of the law, or so he says--she still refuses to share. After this, LT experiences a vision of the crucified Jesus watching him, and he unleashes his inner angst--his doubts, his fears, his rage--in a profanity-laden cry. It's interesting that LT is such a screw up and corrupt liar, yet carries this religious aspect within himself. It recalls his performance in Mean Streets, although he has more in common with Johnny Boy than Charlie. It is to Keitel's credit that he manages to convey both malice and vulnerability at the same time. LT loses control at the drop of a hat, actually shooting his radio in public while he's driving as he hears the results of a baseball game he's put money on, turning on his siren to play it off as a work-related incident. In more than one instance, he emits an animal-like whine from between his gritted teeth, as though his very existence is threatening to pull itself apart. Is this an existential doubt, or the presence of Jesus trying desperately to reveal Himself to LT? The conclusion of Bad Lieutenant--in keeping with the rest of the film--defies expectation. Once LT discovers the identities of the rapists (by essentially random chance or serendipity, again, who can say), one might expect the movie to end in a fashion reminiscent of Taxi Driver (another film with Keitel). And yet, LT's actions toward the rapists is so mind-boggling yet imbued with a kind of warped logic, that it can't help but come off as inevitable from this rolling force of chaos that is our protagonist. The final coda of Bad Lieutenant is open to some interpretation, but to me, it comes off as though it is saying that salvation is a two-way street. That it isn't enough to believe--you have to behave, or you are doomed. And LT is, was, and will always be doomed.
Recommended for: Fans of a dark and gritty crime film, delivering an unvarnished and shocking portrayal of a true "bad lieutenant" and a man who has sunken so low that any hope of redemption may be nil. Bad Lieutenant is exceptionally graphic and replete with mature content, fully earning its NC-17 rating. This movie is hard and mean, so don't expect any softening of the content here.