Human beings don't come much worse than this New York City police officer, aptly played by Harvey Keitel, an actor who has never cared who he offended in any role or never backed off from a challenging role.
Keitel reaches new depths of depravity in this role, which you can see in either an R-rated or a NC-17 rated version. That should tell you something about this movie, so be forewarned and read some of these other reviews, many of which are well- written. The NC-17 version probably is there because of Keitel pulling a female motorist over and then masturbating on her driver side's windshield (no, they don't actually show it). Nice, huh?
At least - and this turned off the sickos who loved Keitel's immoral character - he repents near the end, hallucinating that he sees Jesus and begging for forgiveness. As bad as he is, he's always aware of his sins. Speaking of forgiveness, there is a nun in this movie who gives a demonstration of forgiveness that is astounding and is a great "witness" to the "bad lieutenant."
Thus, even though the movie is extremely sordid, there are some a few very redeeming qualities here....but so many of the opposite that I can't recommend this. Yet, it's a unique story so, you decide, but know what to expect.
I did get one big laugh out one scene in the film, the one where Keitel loses a big baseball bet and shoots his car radio in frustration. Some viewers think he should have shot the people who made this film! On the other hand, I know a lot sports bettors who know the feeling.
Keitel reaches new depths of depravity in this role, which you can see in either an R-rated or a NC-17 rated version. That should tell you something about this movie, so be forewarned and read some of these other reviews, many of which are well- written. The NC-17 version probably is there because of Keitel pulling a female motorist over and then masturbating on her driver side's windshield (no, they don't actually show it). Nice, huh?
At least - and this turned off the sickos who loved Keitel's immoral character - he repents near the end, hallucinating that he sees Jesus and begging for forgiveness. As bad as he is, he's always aware of his sins. Speaking of forgiveness, there is a nun in this movie who gives a demonstration of forgiveness that is astounding and is a great "witness" to the "bad lieutenant."
Thus, even though the movie is extremely sordid, there are some a few very redeeming qualities here....but so many of the opposite that I can't recommend this. Yet, it's a unique story so, you decide, but know what to expect.
I did get one big laugh out one scene in the film, the one where Keitel loses a big baseball bet and shoots his car radio in frustration. Some viewers think he should have shot the people who made this film! On the other hand, I know a lot sports bettors who know the feeling.