Director: Werner Herzog
Starring: Nicholas Cage, Val Kilmer & Eva Mendes
An often surreal, dark humoured remake of Abel Ferrara’s original that jettisons many themes of the original film but is still entertaining for the usual madness that Herzog brings to his features to fill the gaps and includes a memorable performance from Nicholas Cage.
A remake of a cult film by Abel Ferrara which starred Harvey Keitel by Werner Herzog which relocates the plot to New Orleans post-Katrina and starring Nicholas Cage, an actors whose recent years had seen a series of films in receipt of poor review, would be a questionable choice of project for Herzog yet Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is a remake in the loosest sense keeping the main title and the main plot of a crooked cop descending even further into corruption with all other elements being largely new. The resulting film is one that is at times crime noir, at others is unmistakable a Herzog film but all throughout is a darkly funny, surreal and sometimes scary drama with Nicholas Cage’s often hysterical acting style being exploited effectively to support the story rather than distract from it.
Following Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans cop Terrence McDonagh (Cage) injures himself whilst saving a prisoner in a flooded jail cell from drowning. Now suffering a back injury that will put him in pain for the rest of his life, Terrence soon finds the prescribed medication is not enough and soon develops a drug habit which, in addition to mounting gambling debts, fuels his willingness to cut corners and break laws in his duties with an escort girlfriend named Frankie (Mendes) to support and a murder to solve that brings him into contact with several drug figures who could speed up his corruption even further.
A crime film might seem an odd choice for Herzog, let alone one that is a remake, but Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans still bears many familiar themes seen in Herzog’s earlier works such as the human psyche under pressure and with Nicholas Cage engaging in performances of excess that have caused some to call him the heir to Herzog’s previous muse Klaus Kinski. Herzog’s POV style cinematography isn’t as prominent here as it has been in other films, his documentaries especially, but when it appears it often in aid of the surreal tone Herzog strikes throughout as the lead character descends further into a drug fuelled darkness with shots of Iguana and a POV shot of an alligator watching an accident scene where police are clearing up the damage of an accident caused by another alligator stepping into traffic all adding the overall feeling of madness that gradually increases as the film progresses. Moving the story to New Orleans is also a smart move on Herzog’s part as this city in crisis, a city damaged by Hurricane Katrina, adds another layer to Terrence’s story who is also damaged and struggling to keep himself together just as New Orleans has been in the wake of disaster. As nightmare-ish as Terrence’s descent is portrayed, the film is also recognisably a police drama too with Herzog grasping crime noir conventions admirably and then surprises all with an almost redemptive final act which may, or may not, be real when the state of Terrence’s psyche is brought into consideration.
Nicholas Cage leads the cast with a very impressive performance. Whilst well known for playing jittery, hysterical personalities on screen especially in later years, his style works very well within the world of Herzog with Cage appearing almost fearless in his willingness to push his OTT behaviour to its limits yet almost everything fall within the context of the character’s journey with Cage proving to be very watchable and even controlling his body language to support the performance as he progresses to hunch over and become a gradually more hulking physical presence on screen as his character’s physical pain continues to worsen in spite of his self-medication. While Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is mainly a one man show in terms of performances, its does feature an impressive list of actors in supporting roles including Val Kilmer as a fellow crooked cop, Vondie Curtis Hall as Terrence’s boss, Eva Mendes as Terrence’s girlfriend, Brad Dourif as Terrence’s bookie and a quite impressive turn from comedienne Jennifer Coolidge as Terrence’s alcoholic mother in law. Only Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson disappoints in yet another tough guy gangster role but otherwise the film features good performances from all.
Only loosely a remake, retaining the main title and central plot of a cop descending in darkness and corruption, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is an impressive and enjoyable crime drama in its own right with many touches that are undeniably Herzog and a thick vein of dark humour and plenty of enjoyably surreal moments with the most enjoyable performance from Nicholas Cage in a decade. Mad yet very enjoyable.
Rating: 4/5
