Review of Bad Lieutenant (1992) by Jim H — 23 Oct 2010

First, this is the lightest NC-17 I've ever seen. Yes, it's got some graphic nudity here and there, but I would use this as exhibit A in my case against the usefulness of the MPAA.

The main attraction of this film is Keitel's strong, engaging, and at times gut-wrenching performance. Although his moaning occasionally seems so personal as to become uncomfortable to watch (in a bad way), it cannot be denied that Bad Lieutenant features a great actor at the top of his form. But the weakness of the film is the fact that we never get to understand why he's so poisoned in the soul. The film makes it clear that we're not supposed to pay attention to the mystery but to the character, however it relies on the horribleness of the crime he investigates to be the only motivator for the way he is. I admit that I sound like a pretentious ass in a creative writing workshop, but it's nonetheless true that the character's starting place seems un- or under-motivated.

As a baseball fan, not a movie fan, I have to level one other serious criticism: the Mets/Dodgers series that serves as the film's backdrop is entirely fictional. The NLCS was between the Braves and Pirates in 1991, which is the only year that Cone and Strawberry were on the Mets and Dodgers respectively. This shouldn't bother me as much as it does.