Review of Bad Lieutenant (1992) by Hiu C — 02 Jun 2010
Wowzers. I first saw this years ago, but rewatching it is just as powerful.
This is a harrowing, nasty journey of one man's descent into his own private and public hell, while all around him the world has already apparently gone to Hell in a handcart.
Cops arrive at rape and murder scenes and seem more preoccupied by the next baseball game. New York feels like something from the grimy, depressed 1970s rather than the early 1990s.
Harvey Keitel gives a truly fearless performance. There's nothing he doesn't do. He sobs, howls, rages. He bares his body and soul, inhales, injects, drinks, smokes, masturbates. He debases himself and virtually everyone else he meets.
And yet, by the end of this extraordinary tough watch, we (almost) pity him. Through the case of a nun brutally raped he begins to seek his own redemption. And maybe he finds it.
This review of Bad Lieutenant (1992) was written by Hiu C on 02 Jun 2010.
Bad Lieutenant has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
