What is the Price of Redemption?
A Study of Sin, Vice, and Forgiveness in Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant
“We cannot do immoral things and call on God to bless us. It just does not work that way.” — Gordon Bitner Hinckley
What did he mean? Let's look at the film Bad Lieutenant (1992), directed by Abel Ferrara to try to understand Hinckley’s statement more. The story is about Lt. Tony Levatino (Harvey Keitel) who works in the NYPD. Despite having a wife and two children, he is subject to almost all forms of vice: gambling, drugs, prostitutes, etc. “I don’t know what’s worse, the guys who do the crime or the guys who try to stop it.” — Lt. Tony Levatino.
But even the policeman cannot be safe after losing big on sports betting. Now Lieutenant owes money to the mafia and he urgently needs to pay it back. He borrows $30,000 from a drug dealer he knows. After this, he arranges to meet with the bookmaker at Penn Station.
The lieutenant often denies that anything is wrong with him. “I’m not looking for redemption. I’m not looking for forgiveness. I’m just looking for a way out.” — Lt. Tony Levatino
At the same time, the lieutenant has to investigate the rape of a nun in a nearby church. He visits her in the hospital and tries to find out who did it, but she refuses to say. She says that she has forgiven them, and doesn’t care to see them brought to the law’s version of justice. To Levatino, this makes no sense. He slowly becomes increasingly immersed in an ongoing alcohol and drug trip.
“The beginning of sin is like opening a sluice: the stream which at first may easily be crossed soon becomes a wild and boundless flood.” — John Calvin
One day the lieutenant comes to church and physically sees Jesus. At first, he cries, then he shouts at him: “Where have you been? How could you let this happen? Why do I have to do this instead of you?” Then he apologizes. “I’m trying to do this but I’m too weak. I need you to help me. Please forgive me.” He approaches Jesus at his knee and kisses his feet. Jesus stretches out his hands towards him. Then the lieutenant raises his head and sees the church minister, instead of Jesus.
The lieutenant finds the two bandits who had attacked the nun. They turn out to be two yuong Hispanic guys. Instead of taking them to the police, he drives them to the Bus Terminal, puts them on a bus, and gives them $30,000. He demands that they never come back to New York. When giving them the money, he makes an incredible effort on himself. He prepares to shoot them, but resists and still lets them go.
After that, he parks on the street in front of Penn Station and another car drives up beside him. The driver, presumably the bookie with whom the lieutenant had arranged to meet, shoots and kills the lieutenant.
Conclusion
When I look at people like Levatino, I wonder why some writers infuse vampires, werewolves, zombies, and the like into their stories since people themselves act like devils to each other. But in this film, there is probably the most serious change in the person I have seen in a movie: a cruel and corrupt cop who forgives two rapists.
It is obvious that in the case of the lieutenant, the death of the rapists was not a punishment but a liberation which is very hard to come by. The higher the sin, the higher the price of redemption. For the lieutenant, it’s compassion and true compassion is perhaps when you help someone who doesn’t deserve it. This is precisely the main sign of it. Redemption doesn’t come by simply asking for it. We have to change ourselves.
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” — Mahatma Gandhi
Additional information
The screenplay was co-written by Ferrara with Zoë Lund, both of whom appear in the film in minor roles. The budget was $1 million and the box office was $2 million. The movie was not considered financially successful but now it has gained a cult status.
It’s a rare example of a good movie in which the villain is the main character. The genre is neo-noir, the same as TV’s True Detective, and it's hard to make it good but they succeed in it. I think this is the best role of Harvey Keitel, even better than in Reservoir Dogs. However, Christopher Walken was originally going to portray this character.
I will try to assess the main parameters of the film that seem important to me using a 1–10 point scale.
Selection of Actors 9
Innovation 6
Soundtrack 7
Main Idea 10
Finale 10
Total 8.4
Thanks for your time.
