Bad Lieutenant (1992) (Column)

I saw the remake not long a go as you might have read, and I found this to be in some way Nicholas Cage redemption after movies such as Ghost Rider, Next and his economical breakdown. And I found that this was quite a respectable part of this movie. So, at the video store when I found the original Harvey Keitel Bad Lieutenant I decided to rent it right away.

I wasn't really sure what to expect, but when the movie started I realised what I should expect. In the first place, great acting, and great script. Harvey Keitel is the bad boy you want if you want a real crime movie. But this is not a crime movie, this goes far from Scorsese's mafia series (Goodfellas, Casino, etc.) it goes further than Tarantino, the director, Abel Ferrara, a pretty unknown director, but in other movies he got to the same place as he did in this one.

Bad Lieutenant is a movie about humans, its a movie about a circle of addictions and low lifes that takes the human as low as it can get. It's not an easy movie to watch, its not, but still I've seen it over 3 times now, and still have it at home. You have to stand there and watch a nun being raped or Harvey mentally raping two teens, its just so raw, so true that it scares people. It is a scary movie, but it is a really true movie.

Rating: ****1/2 (4 and 1/2 stars)