The Bad Lieutenant – Port of Call: New Orleans

This is one of those movies that you don’t expect to be good because it stars Nic Cage, and then you find out Werner Herzog directed it.

Actually I don’t really have a lot against Cage; I haven’t seen all of his movies, but from what I can tell, his performance relies a lot on the quality of the direction. The biggest turd that I have seen was Ghost Rider, ‘nuff said. Herzog is anything but a bad director, and it shows in this film.

I guess it’s a remake of the 1992 movie Bad Lieutenant, but I haven’t seen it. From what I just read about it there are a few differences in the plot but it’s generally the same theme. Said theme is one of a quest for redemption amid spiraling failures. Cage’s character is a police detective who has a lot of destructively bad habits, some brought on by a near debilitating back injury. In this aspect he’s very similar to Gregory House from House MD, although he’s actually quite a bit more of an asshole; he does things that hurt himself and others almost flippantly. For a reason that’s never explained he has a ridiculously gorgeous escort girlfriend played by Eva Mendes. She, among other things, becomes an object of his redemption.

The main plotline begins with a multiple homicide. Some vestige of goodness leads Cage to adopt the case very seriously, although his attentions will not be fully focused on it due to his many problems. Oddly though his very horrible decisions eventually lead to many favorable outcomes, while it seems that every time he tries to do something positive it smacks him in the face. In the end he seems very confused but a little happier perhaps.

What makes this a great movie in my eyes is a combination of weirdly wonderful cinematography and sudden bursts of insanity. There are several moments where the camera obliquely focuses on lizards, specifically alligators and iguanas; it’s probably some sort of symbolism but I don’t really know, I just like how strange it is. Then Cage, usually while under the influence of powerful narcotics, says darkly hilarious things in his trademark wobbly voice to chilling effect. You may have seen the “His soul is still dancing!” scene in the previews. Herzog describes the film as a sort of a dark comedy that doesn’t seem like one, but it might make you laugh in a way that you don’t really understand. Definitely in my case.