Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call - New Orleans
Certainly unconventional in its approach, it dares the audience to either go along for the ride or walk out.
I believe my enjoyment of Werner Herzog's latest can be directly attributed to seeing it at Ultra Culture's inaugural night at the ICA, and I do wonder if their plotted shenanigans made the whole affair even more surreal. They included a bit-part actor mentioning star Nicolas Cage's posture in a specially recorded message, causing multiple moments of hilarity throughout the screening.
It's basically a terribly overdone story of a bent cop, but with an off-kilter veneer. The only thing Bad Lieutenant shares with Abel Ferrara's 1992 gloomfest is the name and basic premise of a drug-addicted law enforcement officer. The original was bleak and left a bitter taste in the mouth, with Harvey Keitel's brave (and depraved) portrayal of a man seeking redemption. Now, Cage's McDonagh develops his narcotics addiction as a result of a back injury, and seems quite happy to pilfer seized cocaine from the station and any suspects. William Finkelstein's script treads that well-worn path of having the lead woman a big-hearted prostitute, but at least Eva Mendes plays high class hooker Frankie with a courageous, passionate spirit. Oozing sensuality and charm, it's easy to see why McDonagh is in a tender, if supply-dependent, relationship with her, despite her job.
Cage has now become one of the most intensely watchable actors alive, and long may his career renaissance continue. Never falling into over-the-top caricature, his insanity bubbles on the surface, you laugh with him, not at him, as he stumbles through his drug-addled day. Cage's uncontained amusement at the name of one of the suspects is infectious and your heart misses a beat whenever he explodes in adrenaline-fuelled hysteria.
He partners up with Val Kilmer to investigate the slaughter of an immigrant family in New Orleans, leading him to turf wars. This is no jazz-filled rose-tinted look at the city. In fact, the opening scene is set in the floods of Hurricane Katrina, and the film takes place in damp and anonymous ghettos, trailer parks and hotels. The only clue at the location is in the swamp-dwelling creatures that make scene-stealing cameos on occasions (and to be honest, these moments are the sole reason for all the hype).
Despite some barmy flashes of brilliance, Bad Lieutenant is not as wild and out there as you'd like to believe. It's certainly unconventional in its approach, and Herzog dares the audience to either go along for the ride or walk out. The entire film hangs on Cage's breathtaking energy, and he doesn't let the viewer down for a second.
Subscribe to the SG News Feed
