MovieChat Forums > Bad Lieutenant (1992) Discussion > Did the nun REALLY not want them arreste...

Did the nun REALLY not want them arrested for what they did to her?

posted 2 years ago by TheMan18 (13135)
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Even IF in her heart she may have forgiven them given her high level of religious beliefs, but did she really not want them to face legal responsibility for it either?

Or was she perhaps too shocked, traumatized, embarrassed even as well as having strong religious thoughts that may have IMPLIED it but prevented her from saying it out loud?

Or maybe she didn't mind them for instance not going to prison for it or even in other ways be say hurt or killed for it in vengeance and did not have a strong sense of legal justice here?

Did she also perhaps believe that this may have been their first and last offense and that if confronted and forgiven, like what we see at the end, they may repent and not sin again especially not in that sense?

In this movie it was sort of implied but not entirely spelled out and it welcomed certain interpretations as well.

But did she really want them to avoid legal punishment? Or was just too shy to openly state it out loud that even though yes she does forgive them, she also wants or doesn't mind them being put in jail for it either? What do you think, thanks.

P.S. And yes I know it is a sensitive issue either way. But this movie also adds the religious aspect and makes us question whether that plays any role in peoples lives that strongly of various varieties and in different situations?

[–] TheMan18 (13135) a year ago

I also ask this because...

Yes I know full well that rape and sexual abuse in general is a very pressing and sensitive issue but...

In this movie, it was sort of hinted that nun acts like this due to her religious beliefs than the very nature of her sexual trauma.

But I've seen in reviews people suggest it could and generally is for latter reasons that many victims religious or not are afraid, although in this movie, it wasn't totally spelled out, harsh reality notwithstanding.

And some people were divided. I read one Russian review who claimed that it was driven by "religious non-sense", but wait, is it REALLY "non-sense", just like that? MANY people ARE sincere in their religious beliefs, it certainly doesn't just get passed off and presented as worthless non-sense like that.

And would those two men repeat their offenses or would they somehow totally learn their lesson?

[–] moviechatter2526 (155) 8 months ago

Seemed to me she had fully forgiven them and was leaving it up to God to decide what their punishment should be, if any. I think the punishment comes in the form of Harvey Keitel's character, who arrests them, threatens to kill them, but then lets them go, suggesting it was God's way of forgiving them and allowing them the opportunity to change their ways and live a better life (hence the money). God was in a way working through Keitel's character to render His judgement.

It doesn't make sense logically, but in Christian terms, this is what I gathered it meant. The film is about God's willingness to forgive, which is infinite if one's heart is true. It doesn't mean freedom from consequences or punishment though, which is why Keitel's character, despite becoming "redeemed," ultimately still dies at the end. But he dies with a wiped slate.