Bad Lieutenant- Port of Call- New Orleans
Werner Herzog is one of our generation's greatest directors,
somewhat due to his sheer bravery, as proved by his wondrous masterpieces
Fitzcarraldo and Aguirre: Wrath of God. (Here, he has found his new Klaus
Kinski.) However, in recent years, he has been a more consistent
documentary film-maker, with great films such as Grizzly Man. Here,
Herzog is at his most accessible, with a clever, funny, dark and corrupt good
cop-bad cop story. Nicholas Cage plays the titular 'Bad Lieutenant', who snorts
cocaine like it's lemonade and stops a major drug bust, only to snatch
the crack himself. I'm not sure how many lieutenants have a 'lucky crack pipe'.
Cage can be engaging in the right role (Adaptation, Leaving Las Vegas, Wild At
Heart) but his exasperated performances in all of his recent films (save Kick
Ass) have become a cliché. This is Cage's career best since his 95' Oscar
winner. Alongside him is his prostitute girlfriend (Eva Mendes) who seems
perpetually dazed. Bad Lieutenant is everything you'd expect from Herzog;
funny, charming, depressing dark and filled with iguanas.
4/5
Teo
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