Review of Bad Lieutenant (1992) by Sarfaraz A — 01 Oct 2011

It's one thing if a character does unlikeable things with unlikeable temperment if his motives are at least humanized, ie Travis Bickle, Daniel Plainview. But because this character is not even a little bit human, I didn't relate, and as a result, I wasn't affected or hurt by his ultimate fate.

There's one feeble attempt at the end (a scene with extraordinary acting but offensive writing) to make this man seem haunted and lonely. But none of it adds up. There's no emphasis on his identity as a cop, only as a junkie.

There might not have been a problem at all, had the script balanced these two aspects of his life. But because it doesn't, the character and the movie, in effect, is a dud.