Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Directed by: Werner Herzog
Written by: Willam M. Finkelstein
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Shawn Hatosy, Irma P. Hall, Val Kilmer, Xzibit

There was a lot of confusion when it was first announced that Werner Herzog would be directing a remake of the 1992 film Bad Lieutenant starring Harvey Keitel, and even more confusion when a trailer finally surfaced online last year. As it turns out, the movie is not a remake of Abel Ferrara’s original at all, and shares little more than a title and the same general premise. But if it isn’t a remake and it isn’t a sequel, the question remains… what exactly is it?

Somehow the folks at Millennium Films (Rambo, Brooklyn’s Finest) managed to scoop up the rights to the original, and thought that it might make a good starting point for a franchise. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is the first in a potential series of films that would all focus on different “bad lieutenants”. While it might not seem like the most bankable idea in the world, Herzog and Nicolas Cage’s collaboration proves that with the right vision, anything is possible. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is dark and deliriously entertaining, and features one of Cage’s best performances in years.

Cage plays Terence McDonagh, a New Orleans cop who injures his back trying to save a victim from drowning in Katrina’s aftermath. He ends up getting promoted to lieutenant, but he also gets hooked on painkillers, eventually moving on to harder drugs as well. He is assigned to investigate the murder of five Senegalese immigrants, but even as he tries to do his job, he’s also willing to do just about anything to get that next fix — even if it means shaking down innocent people on the street and stealing from the police evidence locker. His life is spinning out of control, but in his drug-fueled haze he is also a man on a mission, determined to set things right and ultimately take down the drug dealer responsible for the murders.

A lot of people thought this movie was just another Nic Cage paycheck and nothing more, but Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans reminds us how fascinating and unpredictable he can be on screen when he’s given something to work with. He throws himself into the role with reckless abandon, putting on a quirky yet troubled performance not unlike those found in Bringing Out The Dead, Adaptation and Leaving Las Vegas. He slouches and hobbles around, getting progressively more frail and feverish and developing odd speech patterns, all while somehow still managing to function as a decent cop. He carries a .44 Magnum, Dirty Harry style, rattles off wacky one-liners and doesn’t take shit from anyone. He alternates between monster, hero and cartoon character, but despite all the despicable things he does, he is still easy to root for.

One of the reasons why we can get behind him is because of his love for his girlfriend Frankie, who also happens to be a high-class prostitute. He protects her when she is in trouble, and their relationship proves that he occasionally thinks about people other than himself. This is the second time Eva Mendes has played Nic Cage’s love interest (the first being Ghost Rider). We also meet Terence’s dysfunctional parents, played by Tom Bower and Jennifer Coolidge, who also help humanize him a bit. The film is fleshed out by a solid supporting cast that includes Herzog regular Brad Douriff (who plays Terence’s bookie), Val Kilmer (his partner), Michael Shannon (another cop), and Fairuza Balk, who seemed to drop off the planet after Almost Famous.

Serious Werner Herzog fans may feel like he is slumming it here, but he definitely leaves his mark on this film, crafting it into a deserving entry in his legendary body of work. His love of animals and wildlife shines through in the many surreal reptilian cameos; snakes, alligators and iguanas all make appearances, with the latter even earning a musical montage set to Johnny Adams’ “Release Me”. Herzog also references some of his earlier films, particularly his 1977 film Stroszek, which makes use of the same Sonny Terry harmonica song. At times the plot feels like an episode of NYPD Blue or Law & Order (screenwriter Willam M. Finkelstein previously worked on both shows), but Herzog still manages to rise above the genre and inject plenty of strangely poetic moments into the film. Above all though, I think the movie finally proves once and for all that the man does have a sense of humour.

The film’s convenient conclusion makes it a bit difficult to take some of the dramatic elements seriously (and obviously, that wasn’t really the intention), but it’s still open to interpretation and not entirely without meaning. As a crime flick, it boasts some suspenseful scenes, and a little bit of action, but mostly it’s memorable for Cage’s unhinged performance and the endlessly quotable dialogue. This movie isn’t for everyone, but Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is definitely one of the most unique movies I saw last year, and now that it’s out on DVD and Blu-ray it’s sure to become an instant cult classic. Grab your lucky crackpipe and prepare to experience the madness.

Extras on the Blu-ray include a photo album from Lena Herzog, 35-minute making-of featurette, and an alternate trailer. The making-of footage is compelling, if a little random, but an audio commentary track is sorely lacking here. Either way, this is still a must buy despite the disappointing lack of bonus material. — Sean

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