Bad Lieutenant (1992) Review

 

Bad Lieutenant (1992)

Bad Lieutenant follows LT, a corrupt cop in the underbelly of New York City, trying to find redemption for his actions.

This is one of those movies, like Taxi Driver, that makes you feel so many emotions and is raw and convincing to the point that it almost feels real. The Lieutenant does it all, from doing massive amounts of cocaine and heroin, to spiraling into massive gambling debt, to even pulling over some young girls to use for some random act of pleasure. Its dark and controversial subject matter is intense and doesn’t give our main character much to aspire towards in being good, with a city so run-down and nihilistic and full of drugs, murder, and rape, that there isn’t much point in being moral.

I am a massive fan of Harvey Keitel and this movie hinges on his performance and his alone. He is so lurid and powerful in his ability to make us sympathize and feel genuine pain for such a bad man. Even at his lowest moments, he is a sinner who repels repentance, but still wants justice in his own twisted way. Keitel takes this role, and runs with it, seeming unbelievably human and full of such anger, always seeking answers in the wrong places.

Bad Lieutenant is not easy to watch by any means, with it’s dark message, bleak ending, and damn near repulsive imagery. But its loose, religious undertones and unforgivable character who seeks forgiveness nonetheless, makes this such a compelling and quintessential piece of early 90s cinema, in what is no doubt, a career defining role for Harvey Keitel. The movie is the very definition of moral conflict, where in the end, even when he tries to do good and save his own life, he reverts back to who he knows he is deep down inside. He is a man who has seen the world and humanity for what they really are, with sin and violence itself not being the issue, but the aftermath of that sin and violence and how we view it through our own lens, however twisted and broken that may be, determining which side of the aisle we fall upon.

9.9/10