Among movies that are difficult to endure, "Bad Lieutenant" is right up (or down) there with "Sid and Nancy," "Last Exit to Brooklyn" and "American Me."
As for its notoriety at having received an NC-17 rating, let's remember that "Basic Instinct," "Damage" and "Body of Evidence" — all films that played Salt Lake theaters in the past 12 months — initially received NC-17s and then cut just a few seconds to get Rs. Those who have seen both versions of each film say the cuts are hardly noticeable.
In the case of "Bad Lieutenant," co-writer/director Abel Ferrara ("Ms. 45," "King of New York," the upcoming "Body Snatchers") simply declined to edit for the rating. But my guess is that snipping a few seconds here and there could easily have garnered this film an R, as well.
That isn't to excuse the picture, or to say that the NC-17 isn't deserved in this case. But, in truth, it was probably also deserved for "Basic Instinct," "Damage" and "Body of Evidence" — regardless of how much editing they went through.
Harvey Kietel has the title role in "Bad Lieutenant," a New York police detective whose actual name is never given. The film begins with Kietel chewing out his two young sons as he drives them to school, using extremely foul language. And that scene provides about as much of a back story as we're going to get on this guy.
For the rest of the film, we see Kietel indulging in every possible form of degradation — he deals drugs, he repeatedly uses drugs, he cheats on his wife with a pair of prostitutes, he steadily increases his gambling debts to ridiculous proportions, he steals already stolen money from hoods, he humiliates a pair of young girls who are out in their father's car for a joyride — one shocking or disgusting moment after another.
Eventually, Kietel gets involved in a case that causes his Catholic guilt to surface, the rape of a nun by a pair of young local thugs. His drunken and doped-out stupors begin taking on an air of religious self-persecution, especially when the nun tells him she has forgiven the boys who violated her, that she simply wants to get on with her charitable life. This pushes Kietel's already unstable psyche to the brink.
Ultimately, Kietel seeks redemption in a somewhat surprising manner, but by this time the audience has spent two hours wallowing in so much sleaze that it is simply too little too late.
Some of this tale might be redeemed if Kietel's character — or any other character — had any depth at all. But Ferrara seems satisfied with concentrating on the lieutenant's self-destructive acts rather than trying to understand the character, explain how he got to this point or show us why he continues to punish himself.
"Bad Lieutenant" is surface stuff all the way, with Kietel's no-holds-barred performance being the only element of worth. It is quite an acting turn but hardly enough to save the picture.
"Bad Lieutenant" is rated NC-17 for a steady stream of violence, sex, nudity, profanity, vulgarity and drug abuse.