Though there are a number of similarities, this Bad Lieutenant film bares little resemblance to Abel Ferrara’s 1992 production. Not that that would appease Ferrara though, who has been fairly scathing about this new take by Werner Herzog. Herzog’s himself has responded by saying “I’ve never seen a film by him. I have no idea who he is”. A statement by Herzog so dry you could almost towel yourself off with it after a shower. Speaking of water, Bad Lieutenant is set during the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and the chaos of that storm is a neat metaphor for the chaos that is Terrence McDonagh’s (Nicolas Cage) life. Herzog loves ambiguity, and whilst there’s no doubt McDonagh is a Bad Lieutenant, just how bad is he really? You’re left to decide yourself, but in a film where McDonagh steals, threatens, blackmails, gambles and takes drugs, the fact you still feel sympathy for him shows what a great job Herzog and Cage have done. Of course, this definitely won’t be to everyone’s taste, but Herzog does his best to underscore McDonough’s worst excesses as best he can. For example, McDonagh is only a drug addict in the first place due to an early act of heroism. A classic Herzog paradox if ever there was one. Despite a decent support cast, this is Cage’s vehicle all the way and easily one of his best performances ever. He totally inhabits McDonagh, even to the point it’s painful for us just to watch him walk. Of course, being a Herzog film there are a few completely bonkers moments (the iguana-cam moment seems to have already gone down in film folk law) and anyway, this is Herzog and Cage together, how could it not be mad? Most impressively of all, despite the at times grim subject matter, this film has a good sprinkling of humour (mostly black you’ll be unsurprised to hear). Herzog can be a difficult film maker to get your head round at times, but this is the cherry on the cake of his recent strong outings. Plus of course, you don’t get Harvey Keitel dangly bits in this one.
The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
This is high quality film making which should improve with future viewings. Cage is fantastic, Herzog seems to be having a ball and the denouement is both smart and moving. Oh yeah, did I mention the iguanas? Rating: 8/10
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