In one of the bravest performances you'll ever see, Harvey Keitel plays the unnamed Lieutenant, a drug addict, bully, and gambler who begins to find redemption through his investigation of a nun's rape. I find this film compelling because it goes all the way and never compromises its integrity in the process. This isn't a gratuitous exploitation film but a serious examination of a man who's lost - he can't control his own vices and he obviously hates himself more than he hates other people (which is saying a lot). This is not a film for the squeamish - although it's not particularly violent and if you can't deal with Keitel's nudity you shouldn't be watching movies above a PG-13 level - but it has so many uncomfortably stark scenes and the Lieutenant is so despicable it might result in people hating this film. But I think it's a masterpiece, and Ferrara's best film by far.
Review of Bad Lieutenant
