Detective Terrence McDonagh keeps seeing iguanas throughout "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call- New Orleans", but no one else can. This is probably a side effect of his cocaine addiction, or heroine addiction, or it might be paranoia because he owes a bookie $5,000 and he roughed-up a rich client of his prostitute girlfriend who sent out 3 "enforcers" to rob McDonagh and kill him. This is the main plot of "Bad Lieutenant", and McDonagh (played amazingly by Nicolas Cage) has to solve his own web of problems while solving a murder case in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Cage plays the "Bad" Lieutenant perfectly. He is much more than bad though, because stealing drugs from the police medicine stores and getting on the right side of a drug-dealer to pay off some debts constitutes as much more than just "bad" behavior. Cage is on drugs the entire movie, he never sleeps, and never goes to his house (which does not appear in the film). In his finest performance since "The Weather Man", Cage proves to the world once again how talented of an actor he really is. In the beginning of the film, Cage and his partner (played by a crazed Val Kilmer) are investigating the remains of a flooded prison. They find some evidence that Kilmer wants to take back to "Duffy", one of their co-workers. Cage keeps the evidence instead (which are dirty pictures of Duffy's wife) and yells out "F**k Duffy okay, f**k Duffy!" It is clear from this point on that Cage is going to be a raving maniac, which he plays as funny and depressing at the same time. There is also a hilarious scene in which Cage visits a drug store to get his prescription pills (vikaden), when he waits too long, he explodes and jumps over the counter to get them. This is how Cage acts the entire movie.
The supporting cast is not nearly as strong as Cage is though. Eva Mendes plays Frankie (Cage's prostitute girlfriend) well, but her performance is nothing special. Cage's co-workers and parents are not bad either, but their performances pale in comparison to Cage. The only other very good performance is Xzibit, surprisingly enough, who plays a drug-dealer named Big Fate.
Werner Herzog directs the film moderately well, but it seems he just let Cage run wild instead of trying to do anything fancy (besides the acid-trip-like scene with some iguanas), which is not necessarily bad. He also lets the city of New Orleans become a character all on its own, with lots of shots of the city and many references to streets and gang turf as well. Herzog (who also directed "Rescue Dawn" and "Aguirre, the Wrath of God") does this to perfection, but it is the only perfect thing he does.
The screenplay by William M. Finkelstein is just incredible. He creates all these horrible problems that Cage brings on to himself, and weaves all the stories together in the last 30 minutes of the film to allow Cage to fix his mistakes. The screenplay does drag on at some points though (mostly at Cage's parent's house), but the ending really makes up for any lagginess in the first hour and a half. Finkelstein also masterfully intertwines Cage's plot to the murder investigation he is leading, and when they finally meet it ends with a bang. The cinematography is also very well-done, with lots of handheld and 3-4 minute takes, there is an added realism to the film which is needed because of all the crazy and improbable things that happen to Cage. Mark Isham's score is also very well done, with a head-bobbing theme and haunting strings that carry the movie at some parts. The film could have used a better editor though, the 2 hour run time is very long, especially when the audience watches Cage do drugs the entire time.
"Bad Lieutenant" is just fun to watch. Cage should easily get an Oscar nomination, as should Isham's score. The way the film goes from gritty crime-drama to an almost-comedy (the transition scene is when Cage visits a retirement home to inquire where a murder witness is) is just ingenious. Cage gives the performance of his career, it seems he was born to play Lieutenant Terrence McDonagh, and it's a treat to sit back and watch him.
Verdict: GO SEE IT!
****/***** (4/5 stars)
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