Abel Ferrara: The King of Sleaze
Cinematic history is littered with boundary-pushing Mavericks who consistently provoke audiences while also pushing the form. In fact, there are several filmmakers who have consistently aroused audiences to the point that they earn the term of enfant terrible. Lars Von Trier, Gaspar Noe, and Harmony Korine are examples of auteurs that have received this label. However, perhaps no enfant terrible has remained as individualistic for such a long time as American filmmaker Abel Ferrara. In an almost fifty-year career, Ferrara has explored themes of misogyny, madness, and Catholicism. From his early exploitation work in the gritty New York of the 70’s to later meditations on morality and faith, Ferrera’s intoxicating sensibilities have earned him praise and scorn in equal measure.
Ferrara, who actually got his start making pornographic films, first broke onto the scene with The Driller Killer (1979), an exploitation slasher film. The film courted controversy and was banned in the United Kingdom. He followed this with Ms. 45 (1981), a rape revenge thriller about a mute woman, who after being sexually assaulted, goes on a spree killing men in New York City. The film is a lurid and astonishing look at trauma and violence against women. However, it still manages to deliver exploitation thrills along with a twisted sense of humor. The film has some of the most memorable imagery of Ferrara’s career such as a macabre twist on the famous Brooklyn Bridge shot from Manhattan or its protagonist dressed as a nun shooting down men at a Halloween party. The Driller Killer and Ms. 45, as well as earning critical scorn on theatrical release, introduced Ferrara as a purveyor of the dark and sleazy. They portray New York as a dark hunting ground, filled with derelicts and sordid men.
It was in the 90’s that Ferrera would reach his commercial, and for many, artistic peak with work such as King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, The Addiction, and The Funeral. These searing portrayals of morality and faith in crisis cemented his reputation as an icon of American independent filmmaking. King of New York (1990) features Christopher Walken, in one of his most iconic portrayals, as the forbidding and spectral Frank White. It contains all of the sordid elements of a Ferrara flick, but with a dark command of style and an ambiguous look at the war between cops and criminals. However, it’s portrayal of gritty New York street crime could not prepare audiences for his next film, the unguarded and relentless Bad Lieutenant (1992).
Arguably his opus, the film features some of the most inflammatory subject matter and imagery of his career, while simultaneously representing Ferrara at his most restrained. At the center is a desperate, angry, and naked performance from Harvey Keitel. Whereas his previous films had recurring religious symbolism, Bad Lieutenant is bathed in Catholic guilt. Keitel’s corrupt cop is tortured by personal demons and a shocking case of assault has him reflecting on faith and personal redemption. In the years since this peak, Ferrara has remained an independent filmmaker moving from arthouse films such as 4:44 Last Day on Earth (2011) to biopics like Pasolini (2014). However, few filmmakers have been able to consistently make such unorthodox work with little mass appeal, while also being praised as an unconventional master.
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