Review of Bad Lieutenant (1992) by Steven B — 22 Jun 2010

This was nothing short of a sheer and utter American classic. Bad Lieutenant is a perfect movie. This was truly a gut-wrenching and unnerving edge of your seat thrill ride. It was a character study into the mind of darkness of a Shakespearean tragic figure (Harvey Keitel).

This was a film about many things: drugs, addiction, gambling, religion, redemption, and baseball. It was incredibly entertaining and at only 96 minutes long, it really flew by. The movie follows Keitel's character, who as the title suggests is a bad lieutenant, which is the understatement of the year.

He does plenty of bad things, but his character is seeking redemption. I thought it was cool and entertaining how the plot of this movie hinged on the results of the National League playoffs, especially coming from a big fan of old school baseball.

This movie was like a combination of Taxi Driver and The Fan only this time Harvey Keitel played the anti-hero. Keitel's performance was brave, personal, and emotional. He lit up the screen in what has to be one of the greatest showcases of acting ever put on film.

Everything about his performance felt honest and real. Also, Keitel has to be one of the greatest criers in the history of cinema (his crying in both this movie and Reservoir Dogs are priceless). He's also really good at acting high.

Speaking of which, the heroin scene in this movie had to be one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever seen in a movie. It was incredibly cringe-worthy. To sum it all up, this gritty movie is one of the best movies of the 90's, probably my favorite decade for movies.

This movie is now one of my all-time favorites. It's unbelievably entertaining, powerful, and intense. It is a movie experience that I will never forget and I hope to watch and study this film more in the future.