Bad Lieutenant (1992)

Humanity's journey into darkness has been an oft-visited creative well over the years. Be it 'Dante's Inferno', 'Apocalypse Now', or 'Breaking Bad', it is a subject that has compelled us for centuries. Is there some element of all of us, on some primal level, that wants to give in to that voice on the shoulder that just wants to throw it all on the bonfire and see what happens? Maybe. Regardless, these stories will likely never cease as long as we have a conscience. They are not so much a 'rise and fall' type of tale, but more a 'fall and fall further until you end up snorting cocaine in a church and screaming "what are you looking at, you rat f**k?!" at a vision of Jesus Christ. Which brings us to Abel Ferrara's 'Bad Lieutenant'.

On a surface level, it is an unflinching portrayal of a police officer gone, well, not quite rogue but something altogether more disturbing - he almost seems to be splitting apart on an atomic level at certain points - and as such was banned in multiple countries for it's depictions of depravity and nihilism. In others, it ended up with an X-Rated certificate. Either way, it's safe to say that it was considered controversial upon it's release.

The story is singular in it's focus. We follow Harvey Keitel - who plays a New York City police officer with, shall we say, a few demons - through his day-to-day routine, which could be classified as a daily descent into hell. From the opening scene, wherein he simply has to drop his two sons off at school, we see a man on the brink, screaming obscenities at his children who themselves are so unphased by this behaviour that we are immediately tipped off that this has been going on for some time. Then, to begin his day, he takes about 5 big fat snorts of cocaine while watching his sons head into their first class, and so the tone is set. When you're doing cocaine on the school run, the only way from there is down.

So it goes for the remainder of the film. This is a man determinedly on a path to self-destruction and god help anyone who crosses him on the way. However, while you might be tempted to think of this as some sort of genre-styled 'man has had enough and goes on a rampage' type of film, it is in fact much more than that. This isn't an exercise in seeing what wacky mischief Keitel's character can get himself into next. Instead this is a desperately uncomfortable watch of someone in a death-spiral of alcoholism, drug-addiction and a series of very poor life choices. Yes, there are many capers which occur as a result and the sheer variety of places that Harvey decides to snort cocaine is a feat in itself - on the afforementioned school run, during a homicide investigation, in church, on top of a picture of him and his infant daughter, in front of his mother-in-law...the list goes on - but this film isn't about that. It's presented in a realistic, quite terrifying, way, which was probably why it was controversial in the first place. People want it to feel real but safe, not real and completely unhinged, which is what we're faced with here. The danger feels palpable at every turn.

Most of the credit for this sensation goes to Harvey Keitel, who puts in the performance of a lifetime, and Ferrara, who was apparently actually addicted to heroin during the making of this film but somehow still managed to direct everything with a realism and expertise that makes you wonder what he could achieve if not addicted to heroin. These two forces combine to make something truly unique and, speaking of heroin, there are a few scenes (where Keitel gets involved in the brown stuff) which - because of their realistic feel - are among the most difficult to watch. His performance, often opposite another famed drug addict, Zoe Lund (who romanticised the drug to the point of dying from on overdose at aged 39), makes you genuinely wonder if he was being shot up with the real thing. Of course, it is scenes like these that made this film controversial in the first place, but also compelling in it's own strange way.

Religion, and in particular the catholic church, also loom large. In that respect, it is not too dissimilar to Martin Scorcese's classic 'Mean Streets' (1973) wherein the lead characters - both coincidentally played by the same actor - operate as wiley masters of street-level activity but find themselves bereft of faith as a result. But where 'Mean Streets' operates in a more existential way, 'Bad Lieutenant' is much more visceral in it's approach. A horrific crime involving a Nun runs as a central thrust through the narrative and Keitel's admiration of said Nun, plus disgust of the perpetrators, leads him to what can only be described as an absolute meltdown. In one of the most powerful scenes of the time, the previously-mentioned swearing at Jesus scene, his acting is completely spell-binding, heart-wrenching and, again, quite difficult to watch. A soul laid absolutely bare. All of which elevates this film above the average 'cop gone rogue' yarn.

There are many flourishes of macabre brilliance in this film - a hard cut from the savage attack of a Nun to Keitel's 2-year old daughter, two young party girls being pulled over in the wee hours (possibly the most uncomfortable in a series of increasingly disquieting moments), a drug-ravaged Harvey aimlessly pointing his enormous handgun at 6 year olds - but none are as show-stopping as the final shot, which looks about as realistic as it gets for cinema. One has to wonder if it was staged in some way and the 'extras' in the shot are just ordinary people in midtown Manhattan trying to make sense of what they think they have stumbled upon, such is the quality of the acting. If they are indeed actors. Either way, it's a remarkable and satisfying final shot that not many films manage to get right. But when someone does, it makes all the difference.

Despite the controversy and depiction of all manner of dodgy behaviour, because of Harvey Keitel's performance you cannot help but root for this wretched soul. Despite all of his flaws, and there a seemingly endless litany of them, you somehow want him to win. You want the Dodgers to beat the Mets. You want him to experience the salvation he so desperately craves. You want him to get clean and go home to his family. Yet you somehow know he won't. There is little explanation as to why his personality is so flawed in the first place and what exactly drives him to such depths, but this film isn't really about that. It is a mirror held up to our darker sides, leaving it there in all of it's ugliness, and letting you the audience be the judge. A film made in the 90s, with sensibilities of the 70s, and themes that are essentially timeless - even if they make for an unsettling ride.

★★★★☆

JB.