Bad Lieutentant - Port of Call: New Orleans

According to Werner Herzog, his Bad Lieutenant is neither a sequel nor remake of Abel Ferrara's infamous 1992 film of the same name but more a crime thriller that just happens to share the same title. Furthermore, Herzog has said that he hasn't even seen Ferrara's film and even unsuccessfully tried to change the title of the film.

Subtitled Port of Call: New Orleans, Herzog's film is set in post-Katrina New Orleans and begins with Terrence McDonagh and his partner Stevie Pruit clearing out locker in the police station where they notice that there are too many transfer papers for one prisoner which indicates that he may well be still in his cell. Upon investigation, they find that there is someone in his cell which is rapidly filling with water. Rather than wait for the firefighters and after mocking the guy for a while, McDonagh jumps into the water and frees the prisoner but suffers a serious back injury in the process. Prescribed Vicodin by his doctor, who tells him that he will probably need the medication for the rest of his life, he is promoted from sergeant to lieutenant and awarded a medal for his conduct.

As with the titular character in House M.D., McDonagh becomes addicted to Vicodin and habitually uses cocaine and smokes marijuana in order to relieve the pain. He is given the task of tracking down those responsible for the execution style murders of six illegal immigrants from Senegal but, as a man with absolutely no scruples, he isn't afraid to bend or break the rules and arrest people purely so he can confiscate their drugs for his own personal use.

Things get quite complicated quite quickly with gang members called Midget and G who work for their leader, Big Fate who quite willingly comes to the police station with his lawyer but then a witness goes missing (sent to England by his grandmother) and, because of his connections in the drug world and eagerness for any information that the police have on him, Big Fate and McDonagh become partners so that McDonagh can have enough money to pay off his increasing gambling debts.


It is difficult to compare this to Abel Ferrara's film has, aside from the main character being a corrupt police officer who is addicted to drugs, the two have absolutely nothing in common. In any case, I would rather judge this film on its own merits than compare it to Ferrara's film which most people regard as a classic. It is quite unusual to watch a film starring Nicholas Cage and be immediately impressed by the strength of his performance as, with few exceptions, it has been easier to ridicule them praise the films in which Cage stars. This is one of those films like, Leaving Las Vegas, sees Cage do near enough what he is capable of doing rather than just go through the motions and woodenly go through the script and what is basically a paycheque movie.

With Werner Herzog directing, you're pretty much guaranteed that this film will never be exactly straightforward and will be likely to go off at tangents, feature extraordinary characters and situations and be one of the most bizarre things you have ever seen. Although it isn't up there with his collaborations with Klaus Kinski (Fitzcarraldo, Aguirre: Wrath of God or Woyzeck), Bad Lieutenant is still an extraordinary piece of filmmaking with an incredibly powerful central performance by Nicolas Cage who manages to harness that sort of wackiness that doesn't work in some films but seems perfect for this one. As McDonagh's girlfriend, Eva Mendes puts in one of her better screen performances as a drug abusing prostitute and you even have Val Kilmer as McDonagh's partner who shows that he can still act and doesn't mind putting in the hours in a supporting role.


This is a film that makes you realise that Werner Herzog is truly one of the most eccentric directors around and seemed attracted to off the wall projects that seem to feature a central character with whom he can empathise. There is nothing particularly straightforward about Bad Lieutenant - Port of Call: New Orleans and it is a film that will lose a large percentage of its viewers if they aren't 'dialled in' to Herzog's way of making films (and it is no surprise that it took many months to find a distributor). Even so, I think it is an extraordinarily well made movie which is well acted, well written and well directed.

The Disc

Extra Features
The making of isn't particularly lengthy (at just over 30 minutes) or detailed but does contain interviews with members of the principal cast and crew who talk about the film, how they became involved and what they make of it so far. It also shows how unpredictable the weather can be New Orleans with torrential downpours occurring every so often.

There is also a selection of interviews with six members of the cast and crew including Werner Herzog, Nicholas Cage and Eva Mendes.


The Picture
The 1080p widescreen picture is extremely good with vibrant colours, high detail levels throughout, even in the low light scenes, and excellent skin tones. A great deal of the film is fairly grim and gritty with a fairly muted palette but then there are other sequences that seem to reflect McDonagh's mindset so, when he is high, things are a great deal brighter and occasionally hyperreal.


The Sound
The only option is a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that is a superb job with the dialogue and terrific sound mix that really puts you in McDonagh's place so that you, like him, really aren't sure which way things are going even though he seems utterly control of both the investigation and his own actions even though he isn't sure about what drugs he's taking: there is one scene where he calls on his girlfriend because he has accidentally snorted heroin thinking was cocaine and, because it needs to be at work in an hour, needs some cocaine to sort his brain out!


Final Thoughts
As I'm utterly sick of seeing Nicolas Cage gave mediocre after mediocre performance with the terrible or one thrown in knowing full well he is an extremely gifted actor as his performance in Leaving Las Vegas proved, it is extremely refreshing and reassuring to see a film in which he seems to channel Klaus Kinski and play someone who is not just on the verge of madness, but is firmly there. Werner Herzog is one of those directors who you can trust to deliver a film that is brilliant yet challenging and yet is never straightforward even if it is a documentary about penguins!

Comparisons between this and Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant are utterly pointless as they only share a title and an extremely intense central character. This is a film that is challenging yet rewarding and represents a return to form for Nicolas Cage.