A remake of an obscure, NC-17 cop drama, Bad Lieutenant: Port Call of New Orleans, starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Werner Herzog, sounds more like the result of a cinephile’s game of mad-libs than it does an actual movie. Herzog’s name alone has kept both fans of the 1992 original and critics from dismissing the film as a typical case of Hollywood rehashing an old classic, but can even an auteur as talented as Herzog make sense of Bad Lieutenant’s inexplicable premise?
Put bluntly, the movie doesn’t make much sense. Lt. McDonagh (Cage) is an injured cop turned drug addict, investigating the murder of a Senegalese family. Yet McDonagh doesn’t seem too interested in the investigation, and neither does Herzog seem too interested in an overreaching plot. Subplots abound, revolving around McDonaugh’s vices and his dealings with his girlfriend and family.
Herzog spends the bulk of the film showcasing his anti-hero’s insanity, via hallucinogenic sequences (complete with dancing corpses and reptiles) and depictions of his criminal behavior. At times, this approach is humorous and even refreshing, considering the dreariness of the formulaic cop drama these days, but overall, the film feels meandering. Cage is compelling to watch, but his tongue-in-cheek (over)acting becomes tiresome once it has ceased to be surprising. Not to mention the visible boom microphones, which could be Herzog’s homage to the corny cop dramas he gently mocks but come off as looking like embarrassing mistakes.
The film in itself, though not nearly bad enough to be called “an embarrassing mistake,” makes one question whether or not Herzog bit off more than he could chew with this one. Let this be a lesson to all: reimagining one of the darkest, most unrelenting character studies cum cop dramas ever made as a wacky black comedy is not an easily accomplished feat, even if you are Werner Herzog.
2 Stars Directed By: Werner Herzog Starring: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer Rated R, 121 Min.
