2024.01.23
"Bad Lieutenant" Synopsis
LT, a New York police inspector, is a good family man, but he is addicted to drugs and sex, and spends his days committing acts that are unbecoming of either a police officer or a human being. One day, a horrific incident occurs in which a nun at a church is raped by an unknown assailant. LT is eager to collect his baseball gambling debts in the hopes of collecting the $50,000 bounty, but is confused by the noble spirit of the nun who is willing to forgive the perpetrator who assaulted her. Torn between his own evil deeds and his lofty faith, LT makes a decision...
Index
A strange, dark indie film
In January 2024, "Bad Lieutenant"(1992) and " Reservoir Dogs " (1992) were revived. Is this some kind of sign? These two famous dark indie films, both starring Harvey Keitel, will be released in theaters at the same time. In particular, "Bad Lieutenant" is a bizarre masterpiece that you should definitely take this opportunity to burn into your eyes on the big screen. It is a very dangerous movie that will burn you badly if you watch it half-heartedly.
The film begins with a scene in which a New York City police inspector played by Harvey Keitel drives his two children to school. It's a scene we've seen many times in movies. The child confides his conflicting feelings to his parent, and the parent tenderly cares for the child. From this casual conversation between parent and child, we can see the real family.
But all he can say are curse words: "You've mistaken my dad for the driver," "Shut up," "You're making me lose my mind." And after dropping off his kids, he snorts cocaine as if he's finally gotten rid of them. In just the first few minutes, this man is shown to be the worst kind of father, who doesn't care about his family.
"Bad Lieutenant" © 1992 Bad Lt. Productions, Inc.
He heads straight to the scene of a murder, neglects his work, invites his friends to gamble on baseball games, sells drugs to a drug dealer, and has an affair with a call girl in his apartment. He is not only a terrible father, but also a typical example of a corrupt police officer. His name is never mentioned in the film. In the credits, he is only referred to as LT, an abbreviation of Lieutenant (police inspector). This "nameless man" collapses on the sofa in his living room at home, savoring his lonely days. His family probably gave up on him a long time ago.
A life full of money, drugs, alcohol and sex. Director Abel Ferrara relentlessly depicts the details, and Harvey Keitel responds with a soulful performance, even going so far as to appear completely naked. Harvey Keitel has worked under many famous directors, including Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Quentin Tarantino, Jane Campion and Wes Anderson, but this film, in which he teams up with the genius of the American indie film world, is sure to be one of his best.
Surprisingly, this role was originally supposed to go to Christopher Walken. He starred as a mafia boss in Abel Ferrara's previous film, " The King of New York " (1990). He continued to play Ferrara's best friend and face in films such as " The Funeral " (1996) and " New Rose Hotel " (1998), making his presence known. However, he dropped out of the lead role in "Bad Lieutenant" at the last minute. Abel Ferrara spoke frankly about his feelings at the time, saying, "It definitely surprised me. I was terminally shocked" (*1), and continued:
"That was a script I wrote and we rehearsed it... In fact, I wrote a lot of text into the script based on his rehearsals. But in the end, I think he felt that I wanted something from the character that he didn't feel. It was quite a blow at the time, but looking back, it was a very generous gesture on his part." (*2)
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