THE BAD LIEUTENANT
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1993 James Berardinelli
Running Length: 1:37 Rated: NC-17 (Nudity, violence, language, sex)
Starring: Harvey Keitel Director: Abel Ferrara Producer: Edward R. Pressman Screenplay: Abel Ferrara and Zoe Lund Music: Joe Delia Released by Aries Films
Harvey Keitel plays an unnamed New York City lieutenant who's a lot worse than the criminals that infest the streets he roams. A womanizer, drug abuser, alcoholic, and gambler, it's virtually impossible to find anything positive about the bad lieutenant. When his chance at redemption comes as the result of the brutal rape of a nun, is there anything left within him to redeem?
If a movie could survive on the force of a single performance, THE BAD LIEUTENANT would be it. Keitel throws himself into his role with such gusto that I didn't for one moment think of him as an actor playing a part. No one upstages him in this film. In fact, most of the time when he's on-screen, whoever happens to be sharing the scene with him is virtually invisible. Keitel holds nothing back, and his performance serves to hide some, but not all, of THE BAD LIEUTENANT's flaws.
While the first two-thirds of the movie work as a lurid character study of the lieutenant, they are incomplete. One of the most obvious questions that goes unanswered is how he got to where he is. Not only does the film make no attempt to probe that issue, it's not concerned about it. Even though the lieutenant appears to have hit bottom by the time the movie commences, he nevertheless manages to find new depths to sink to.
Unfortunately, the movie falls apart in its final third. The issue of redemption arises and suddenly the film skids off its tracks, returning to them briefly and belatedly for the chillingly realistic final scene. Aside from being confusing and relatively pointless, the last half-hour is also dull.
Baseball and religion form important backdrops to the movie. Both are as critical to its development as they are to the eventual resolution. The plot itself is simple, doing little more than showing a few days in the life of New York's most corrupt cop, and the conclusion is easy to guess before THE BAD LIEUTENANT's halfway point.
At least the mood isn't unremittingly bleak. There are numerous instances of black humor in this film, some of which are probably unintentional. The excesses of the bad lieutenant are at times so extreme as to be almost comic. There were occasions when the audience broke out laughing when the director didn't intend for that to be the response.
Aside from Keitel's often over-the-top and always brilliant performance, there's little of value in THE BAD LIEUTENANT. The tale it tells is not new, although the graphic detail with which it does that is. There are parallels to Keitel's other recent film, RESERVOIR DOGS, in terms of tone, uncompromising display of violence, and the nature of the actor's characters. However, while in RESERVOIR DOGS, Keitel's Mr. White has a few redeemable qualities, the bad lieutenant has none. Those who were repulsed by RESERVOIR DOGS will likely find THE BAD LIEUTENANT unbearable.
In the final analysis, the only reason to see THE BAD LIEUTENANT is to watch a powerful and underrated actor take over the screen. Because the film is rated NC-17, there will be no Best Actor nomination, regardless of how deserving Keitel is of one. Beyond the actor and his performance, however, THE BAD LIEUTENANT had little to offer. As good as Keitel is, he isn't enough.
Rating: 6.7 (C, **)
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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