Bad Lieutenant
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Movie Reviews of Bad Lieutenant
Movie Review: Bad Lieutenant
Summary: 5 Stars
I have the movie on my dvr,. I have watch'd it repeatedly.Movie Review: A degenerate police lieutenant with no redeeming qualities
Summary: 4 Stars
'Bad Lieutenant' is about a nameless police lieutenant and his degenerate lifestyle. The movies starts with him dropping his sons off at school, then snorting coke in the school parking lot before beginning his day. The storyline is a basically loose, as far as plot, the film consists mostly of scenes of the lieutenant's degeneration. The major plot of the movie is a new crime he's assigned to; the destruction of a catholic church along with the raping of one of the nuns. (Warning - the scene is graphic) Most of the movie is taken up by highlighting the horrible habits of the nameless lieutenant.
He drinks, he smokes, he snorts cocaine, he smokes and shoots heroin, he gambles, he steals drugs from police evidence, he takes money from thieves and lets them go, he sexually harasses young girls he pulls over (another graphic scene) he gets involved in threesomes (Warning: there's a full frontal shot of Harvey Keitel that is not only unnecessary but quite disgusting - Please Harvey - it's not worth showing - put it away and keep it there) and he treats everyone, even his family, with contempt.
The nun case haunts him; she refuses to identify the men who raped her even while admitting she knows who they are. Even with all of the lieutenant's pleading she says she's forgiven them and refuses to divulge their names. The lieutenant simply cannot understand her forgiveness, and it sends him into an even deeper spiral trying to understand her. It's obvious that he's fighting with his own Catholic upbringing and rejection of his faith.
Our nameless lead character has absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Long scenes are spent on his debauchery and perversions. His breakdown in the church where he finds himself wailing and pleading with a hallucination of Christ is almost, but not quite, touching. His is the bottom rung of life, the deepest of rock bottom, and the movie is very depressing for it. The ending is a little surprising. Don't expect a great movie, the photography isn't very high quality, but Keitel does a great job of acting. This is one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen, and again I must warn against the graphic nature of the film, both sexually and drug related. Still, it's worth a peek if your in the mood. Enjoy!
Movie Review: The pinnacle of Ferrara's career.
Summary: 4 Stars
Bad Lieutenant (Abel Ferrara, 1992)
Abel Ferrara has had a long and checkered career in the film industry, never quite achieving commercial success, turning out films that are alternately brilliant and boring. And in the middle of all of it, there is Bad Lieutenant, which to date stands alone as Ferrara's magnum opus, an incredibly powerful piece of work
The unnamed lieutenant (called "LT" in the credits and played to the hilt by Harvey Keitel) starts off the movie looking like any other guy, but it only takes a few minutes of us looking in on his day to realize this isn't your ordinary cop. In fact, he's a downright sleaze. Soon enough, he catches the case that will end up becoming the focus of his career-- the rape of a young nun (Stigmata's Frankie Thorn). At first, he tries to treat it like every other case, but as his life begins to spiral out of control, he becomes more and more obsessed with the deeper symbolism of the case itself, how justice and forgiveness are two sides of the same coin.
The case is there, but it's only as important to the film as the mythical Mets-Dodgers NL playoff constantly on radios and televisions (obviously meant to mirror the '88 NL playoffs, but the movie's playoffs differ in certain important ways to parallel better with the plot structure)-- both are only pieces of the puzzle that is the lieutenant. The movie is Harvey Keitel's, pure and simple, a character study of a man whose bad habits have finally caught up with him And Keitel plays it wonderfully. He is the reason to watch this movie. And even if he is the only reason (let's be frank, this is not a film for the squeamish, as many reviews and viewer comments have made clear; it's NC-17 for a reason), he's still worth it. The finest performance of Harvey Keitel's career, and that's saying something. ****
Movie Review: Sheer Genius: A Tale of Agony and Redemption.
Summary: 4 Stars
This film is not for children. Buy a DVD for them, and when they grow up, give it to them. It's a classic. I saw it over and over when it was first released, and I never cease to be astonished by its bravery and its raw, often horrifying beauty. Ferrara and Keitel are both geniuses. The film is brilliantly paced and controlled and every detail has rich meaning. It's a tale of damnation, deep suffering and redemption. All of Keitel's performances are terrific, but this is one of the very greatest, even rivalling his performance in The Piano. --- Again, this is not for children. But it is for the adult mind that craves originality, fearless artistic vision and absolutely dazzling film making. Never forget, even during the most shocking scenes that this is a film with a conscience and immense depth. It's transformative and unforgettable. During my long years away from the Church, this was a film that drew me closer to my Catholic faith, and certainly closer to my final admission that I believed in God. The film believes in God, and it will astonish you as it reveals this to you. --- I can't praise it enough. I feel inadequate in the face of its complexity. And the Bad Lieutenant is no one dimensional character, not by any means. ---- It's worth noting that the HBO series Deadwood had a similar raw and muscular beauty and a similar profound morality.Movie Review: Captivating! (and un-cut!!)
Summary: 4 Stars
Wow! I was quite glad to find this film on DVD relatively cheap. Well, this "un-cut" NC-17 version is even darker, eerier and more pathetic in mood than the last tape I rented of it. There are many additional scenes and the downward spiral of Keitel's character is finally set free from the censors, who must have had a field day on it in the past. This film is much deeper than just a gritty drug movie. If you just want to see Harvey Keitel smoking crack and masterbating than you are missing the power of this great film. I've always felt this movie captures true "desperation" in a beautifully black and empty way. Keitel's character is madly searching for ANYTHING to give him a crumb of pleasure in life. He is floundering about in this hazy narration of his final days on earth. The film is like a depressing abstract painting of Keitel's post mortem convulsions. I am not one for resiting the plot - you can read the back of this DVD. I'll just say it is surely my favorite Keitel film and an all around upsetter for the weak of heart! It will upset you, captivate you and maybe even make you think. Now go rent it and play it for your friends!