Review for Bad Lieutenant

Harvey Keitel is one of greatest actors of his generation and yet he never really got the praise or acclaim that others such as Al Pacino or Dustin Hoffman did. It is odd to discover that he has only ever been nominated for one Oscar throughout his career. One of the reasons is that the films he chooses are bold and often controversial, these are two words that are apt when describing Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant.

Bad Lieutenant is a bold and controversial film and those who have watched the recent remake/reboot starring Nicholas Cage may be startled at how dark and grungy this film feels. Much like the character Keitel plays, this is not a nice film and certainly not one to go into prepared. Yet, it is powerfully compelling telling the story of a Lieutenant (Keitel) who becomes involved with the case of a nun being raped. The cop is corrupt indulging in all sorts of drugs, mishandling of evidence, gambling, prostitutes and more.

As you can imagine, this is not a happy film and certainly not one that you will rewatch a number of times. However, it is definitely a wonderful piece of film making, from the direction to the music and the wonderful central performance by Keitel, there are certainly elements that make this film a thoroughly worthy watch. My only issue with the film is that after it finished I was left with so many questions about what I saw that I felt a little numb.

You may view this as a film about redemption or about forgiveness or indeed about how low you have to go to find yourself. The film does not end on a positive note and because of this it is very difficult to watch and you sometimes wonder (much like films such as Irrerversible and Requiem for a Dream) whether you should recommend them when you know that the other person will feel so heavy and depressed by the end. Though this is certainly not a bad film by any means necessary, it is just not a happy film.

The Blu-ray includes a number of features including the Original Directors Cut which would have served better if the cut version had been included to serve as a comparison as although I am sure cuts where made from the one originally released I couldn't tell you what they are and whether they make the film better or not.

To help with this we have an interview and commentary from the Director. Ferrara is thoroughly entertaining in both, though as with many solo commentaries I do wish that someone (Keitel perhaps?) had joined him to discuss the film. However, he doesn't ramble and goes through most of the film with some entertaining stories about its creation, controversy and release. Finally to wrap things up we have a trailer, stills and bios which are fine.

Bad Lieutenant is not a nice film and it does not pretend to be one, it is about a bad man who does bad things who just happens to be a cop, a bad cop at that. If you want to see a great performance by Harvey Keitel or a film that will truly make you appreciate your lot in life then this is definitely the film for you. Just don't say I haven't warned you!