I'll keep it short since this wasn't my cup of tea, but "Bad Lieutenant" is a bad movie that is absolutely carried by a great performance in Harvey Kietel. He definitely stopped by the chiropractor after shooting this film.
The story is simple; a cocaine addicted police officer searches for the perpetrators involved in the raping of a nun. To say this movie borderlines on exploiting violence would be an understatement. It's very graphic, especially during intimate (or lack of intimate) moments so be warned if you decide to take this trip with a drug fueled Harvey Kietel. The almost abuse of violence without a thematic purpose sort of turned me off from the movie, as well as the fact that the movie veered into a completely other direction that I didn't agree with by the end. I have to admit the character stayed true and goes through a sort of change internally, but the ending makes no sense if you consider the severity of the crime in my opinion. Anyway, that's all I'll say to refrain from spoilers.
Once again, it was hard to completely despise this movie because Kietel does turn in a career best performance for his role, and that's not an understatement. However, there were too many problems with the plot for me to fully enjoy this truly New York film. Credit to the picture for feeling as raw as it did though because I could physically feel the seediness which means a job well done by the production designer and crew. What also might have helped though is I read the actors did real heroin when shooting up. That pretty much sums up how this movie feels to watch.
The story is simple; a cocaine addicted police officer searches for the perpetrators involved in the raping of a nun. To say this movie borderlines on exploiting violence would be an understatement. It's very graphic, especially during intimate (or lack of intimate) moments so be warned if you decide to take this trip with a drug fueled Harvey Kietel. The almost abuse of violence without a thematic purpose sort of turned me off from the movie, as well as the fact that the movie veered into a completely other direction that I didn't agree with by the end. I have to admit the character stayed true and goes through a sort of change internally, but the ending makes no sense if you consider the severity of the crime in my opinion. Anyway, that's all I'll say to refrain from spoilers.
Once again, it was hard to completely despise this movie because Kietel does turn in a career best performance for his role, and that's not an understatement. However, there were too many problems with the plot for me to fully enjoy this truly New York film. Credit to the picture for feeling as raw as it did though because I could physically feel the seediness which means a job well done by the production designer and crew. What also might have helped though is I read the actors did real heroin when shooting up. That pretty much sums up how this movie feels to watch.