Screening at Kai Cinema: “Bad Lieutenant”

Duration: 1h 36min

Genre: neo-noir, thriller, 1990s

“Bad Lieutenant” is Abel Ferrara’s uncompromising neo-noir drama exploring moral collapse and the possibility of redemption. The film follows a New York police officer who has lost control over his life — drugs, gambling, and violence have become part of his daily routine. Confronted with the investigation of a brutal crime, he is forced to face his own guilt and the faint chance of change.

It is one of the key neo-noir works of the 1990s, shifting the genre’s traditional focus from crime to inner disintegration. Classic noir fatalism is replaced here by religious and existential tension. The film does not ask whether the world is corrupt, but whether a person can find redemption. "Bad Lieutenant" is both brutal and poetic, creating a sense of discomfort — one of the central aims of the genre.

Harvey Keitel’s performance is still considered one of the most intense and vulnerable of his career. Ferrara and Keitel developed many scenes through improvisation, giving the film a documentary-like, almost confessional intensity.

For contemporary audiences, the film feels surprisingly current: addiction, moral confusion, and inner crisis are themes that have not faded with time. Ferrara’s uncompromising style is also back in vogue — several modern auteurs (such as the Safdie brothers) have been strongly influenced by his work.

NB! Film does not have Estonian subtitles

Country: USA, 1992

Director: Abel Ferrara

Cast: Harvey Keitel, Victor Argo, Paul Calderon, Frankie Thorn

Language: English

Subtitles: English