Bad Lieutenant (1992)

Martin Scorsese has named this great film one of the best of the 1990s.
Not a surprise considering that Abel Ferrara's uncompromising trip into the lost soul of a broken, gambling and drug addicted, abusive cop is not seldom compared to Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver'. Its loose story and its authentic look and feel reminds me of yet another Scorsese film; 'Mean Streets'. Moreover both of these films share the actor in the leading role, some of the soundtrack and frequent religious themes and catholic symbolism.

Harvey Keitel is the bad lieutenant in this one-man tragedy and he gives one of the strongest, bravest and most intense performances I've probably ever seen on screen. It's a shame that he wasn't even nominated for an Oscar that year probably due to the disturbing, mature content and the resultant NC-17 rating. He also co-produced the film that could not have been made otherwise.

He not only holds the scenes together but he really embodies this film. There are hardly any other characters at all. It's like we are dropped into the life of the New Yorker Lieutenant (his name is never mentioned) and spend the days with him as he more and more loses the control and sinks deeper and deeper into a hole of desperation and chaos. Additionally his debts are on a steady rise. He is obviously in huge financial difficulty. It is never quite explained how the lieutenant got into this situation even though there is one brief hint to find later in the film.
While driving his sons to school he is listening to the baseball matches he placed bets on. You could say he has a streak of bad luck, he keeps losing and losing. His "bookmaker" tells him he should stop and clear his debts before "they blow up his house and his family". The lieutenant keeps going as he (and probably his family) doesn't care.
All he is thinking about is money ... and drugs. He is in contact with a lot of criminals and drug dealers. He often tries to steal drugs or money from crime scenes or rips people off for some additional receipts. Especially at night he tries to escape his nightmare by taking huge loads of various different drugs from alcohol to cocaine to heroin. But the drugs can't give him what he needs.

When a nun is brutally raped in a church a reward of 50.000 dollars is promised to the one who finds the two offenders. The lieutenant starts investigating. The lord's servant and Keitel's character form a distinct contrast. Instead of focusing on the crime and solving the case the film's ambition is to adress much more abstract and interesting problems. It deconstructs the cop movie genre and highlights the two completely different characters with the nun as purity on the one and the lieutenant as evil on the other side. But when the nun and the lieutenant eventually meet and their contradicting ideologies collide it makes him question everything he believes in, challenges his sanity and shatters his emotion.

In a way it is a spiritual journey to find absolution. What viewers will unsuccesfully search for is hope. Even though the Keitel character is everything but sympathetic the movie makes us feel sad and uncomfortable. His life and the film have been totally deprived of any positive human emotion. His soul is a wasteland occupied by dread and despair.

What is great about the movie is that it portrays the character in harrowing detail mostly by observation of simple behavior. Keitel's acting makes this possible. A similar performance I was reminded of is Nicolas Cage's portrayal of an alcoholic loser in "Leaving Las Vegas". Coincidentially Cage plays the lieutenant in the 2009 film "The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans" which is based on this film but not a true remake and almost as good as this one, so check it out!

The film is not about narrative. Not about telling a great story. It shows the breakdown of a person in a most honest, gritty and existential way, far from often polished hollywood dramas. The raw presentation of the material only enhances its impact. It raises profound questions about redemption and morality. The lieutenant is aware of his sins. His guilt is driving him insane.
And no matter which god you believe in, do you think there is forgiveness for all of us?