Bad lieutenant (D)

The film that put director Abel Ferrara on the film map, “Bad lieutenant” deconstructs the path from debauchery to redemption for a corrupt New York cop. Harvey Keitel stars as the out of control police lieutenant, turning in a mesmerizing performance that can only be described as feral. Co-written by Ferrara with Zoe Lund (who starred in Ferrara’s 1981 perverse revenge film “Ms. 45” and who also makes a brief appearance in “Bad lieutenant”), the film explores familiar terrain for the director, mainly debasement and redemption. Ferrara, not one to shy away from the darker aspects of human nature, follows his law enforcing protagonist as he gambles, steals, takes drugs and in one of the most uncomfortable scenes, sexually coerces two teenage girls. When a young nun is brutally raped on the alter of a local church, the ‘bad’ Lieutenant is called into the investigation. The horrific circumstances of the crime forces the corrupt Lieutenant to examine his own life, sending him into a spiral of despair and ultimately a chance at personal salvation. Cast includes: Paul Calderone, Victor Argo, Frankie Thorn, Paul Hipp, Victoria Bastel, Robin Burrows.