Hour.ca - Film - Movie details - Bad Lieutenant (The)

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Gritty Cop Life

Harvey Keitel gives his greatest performance as the Lieutenant, a truly bad cop spinning out of control, living life with escapist moments with prostitutes and liquor. We're not told much about this character, except what we can make out for ourselves. He's a middle class cop with a cocaine problem, and a touch for doing the wrong thing. He's a gambler that drinks far to much, sleeps with hookers, and in one scene he emotionally rapes two young girls. We're told just enough to judge this character when the new setup begins. A nun is raped and the Lieutenant goes to the hospital. It seems the nun's forgiven these truly awful criminals and won't give the cops the names of the rapists. The Lieutenant, needless to say, is completely shocked and can not believe the nun. He overhears the nun in confession, and finds out the names of the boys and in a great simple ending is capable of some forgiveness. We can see Keitel losing himself in this madness, holding his language in front of the nurse, screaming at Jesus asking forgiveness. He just wants to start over, he knows he's bad and knows far too well how horrible a person he really is. The movie is powerful to say the least, but not for the squeamish as Ferrera's movies rarely are. You'll find yourself uncomfortable for most of the movie, but that's Mr. Ferrera's purpose, to tell horrible, disgusting but unfortunately true to life stories that would otherwise go untold.

Luciano Santavicca

{26 votes}

December 23, 2005

The Shield looks like Sesame Street Compared to This!

The Shield is one of the most populara showa on cable about a crooked bunch of cops who rule their preccint. Well long before the shield Harveil Keitel had carver out the ultimate crooked cop who is far more dangerous thant the criminals he catches. He uses his influence and power to beat up people, to gamble, to hustle just about everbody (including hookers). He has little remorse for his actions until one day a nun gets raped. Then everything snaps. Feeling guilty and vengeful, Keitel atarts questionning his ways but it is only a matter of time before his demons catch up to him again. Great movie, disturbing images!

Gerald Vallee

June 11, 2007

Keitel Kills

I was never a fan of the overrated work of director Abel Ferrara. I had thought that the work was too obvious and gratuitous and thoroughly undeserving of the critical sentiment. I suppose that it took an outstanding performance to get me to reassess that train of thought. While quite familiar with Harvey Keitel from Reservoir Dogs and The Piano and the innumerable works with Marty Scorsese, I was completely unprepared for the performance that he delivered here. It is one that is bravura. And for the ages. An acting school onto itself. Here, Mr. Keitel plays a drug addicted cop who is as bad ( if certainly not much worse ) than the criminals that he is after. It depths to which Mr. Keitel sinks to portray the unredeemable character is almost unheard of in American Cinema. The tipping point being the verbal and mental rape of the two girls in the car sequence. While, arguably over the top and unecessary, I found that it showed the rock bottom point to which the character had sunk. Few actors would have been able to pull that scene off. Remarkable. The film itself is quite pedestrian. It is all of over the place in terms of pace and narrative....easlly style over substance. Mr. Keitel singularly through sheer force of will rises the film out of mediocrity. A acting tour-de-force that demands to be seen!

Reuven De Souza

March 20, 2007

A BRUTAL FILM

This has to be one of the most bad and disturbing films to ever come out in film history. This film is about a crooked cop who has a gambling problem and he owes a lot of money to bookies and at the end of this film they kill this man who is played by Harvey Kitiel. In this film Harvey Kitiel plays a cop who cheats and lies and takes drugs to fill is habit needs and he does not follow the system. I recommend you to rent this film.

Carmela Sicurella

{14 votes}

July 6, 2004

Great movie

This was a great film from start to finish. It was one of the craziest films of all time and Harvey Keitel gave a amazing performance in this independent film. It is about a drugged out crooked cop who bets on sports games and loses and it's just like in real life because there are a lot of crooked cops out there who abuse the system. If you don't like films that are nc-17 then don't rent this film because this film is pure violence and demographic. I recommend this film to people who like real films that are like in real life.

Pete Amaro

{6 votes}

April 25, 2004

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