Movie Reviews 2010: Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call: New Orleans

(They really shouldn't have mentioned, The Wicker Man, remake)

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes & Val Kilmer

Directed by: Werner Herzog

Screenplay by: William M. Finkelstein

Plot:

A rogue cop investigates the brutal massacre of a family in post-hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, whilst dealing with an escalating drug problem.

Verdict:

Where else this or any year, are you likely to see the carcass of an Alligator in the midst of a road traffic accident, and then see the scene again from the point of view of another on looking Alligator? How about some Iguanas popping up for a music montage? Or how about a soul break dancing - "Shoot him again." "Why?" "Because his soul is still dancing!" Werner Herzog's update of 1992's cult picture Bad Lieutenant is the only place you will see all of the above.

These audacious scenes all randomly pop up in an otherwise conventional cop thriller with the plot wrapping itself up in a single scene lasting little more than a minute. But that is beside the point; this is a character study through and through. And who better than Nicolas Cage to represent said character study. Cage is absolutely mesmerising, on the kind of crazy, compelling form that makes him the most gifted actor of his generation; when he chooses the right material of course. Importantly, a wise decision was made by screenwriter Finkelstein to give Cage's Detective Terrence McDonagh's escalating drug problems some kind of excuse, by having McDonagh forced to continuously take prescription medication for his back injury, sustained in a rare moment of generosity at the start of the picture. This allows Cage to remain somewhat likable during his downfall.

And that downfall - drugs, gambling, woman, dirty cop dealing, threatening old ladies - has the perfect backdrop with post-hurricane Katrina, New Orleans. Every shot of the film captures the decaying city allowing it to become a character in its own right. And as the film reaches its redemptive finale, its one of those 'it really shouldn't work' but hey guess what, it does in spades.

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