Ain’t no iguana!
No one is better at this kind of performance than Nicolas Cage. He’s a fearless actor. He doesn’t care if you think he goes over the top. If a film calls for it, he will crawl to the top hand over hand with bleeding fingernails. Regard him in films so various as “Wild at Heart” and “Leaving Las Vegas.” He and Herzog were born to work together. They are both made restless by caution.
“
| — |
- Roger Ebert (from his review of Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans) *also roger ebert does not know who Xzibit is (see) (via myhumaninteractions) |
“Nicolas Cage Coppa Volpi per QUESTO FILM sarebbe come il mio sogno più perverso che si avvera, mi tira una lingua in bocca e mi schiaffeggia urlando.”
(questo l’ho detto io)
Movie Quest #244 Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Nicolas Cage has gotten a bad rep in recent years for making “paycheck” movies which don’t use his talents very effectively and are bland/terrible. He’s also been in the news for some financial uh…troubles. It looks like he’s going to be turning that around with better material (Bad Lieutenant, Kick-Ass, Sorcerer’s Apprentice, etc.).
In Bad Lieutenant, Cage brings his crazed, bug-eyed acting style to a role that might just be perfect for him. Cage plays Terence McDonagh, a New Orleans detective who is promoted to the rank of Lieutenant after injuring himself “saving” a prisoner during Hurricane Katrina. The injury he suffers is a pretty severe back injury and those pain pills just aren’t cutting it. He does what anyone would do: become addicted to crack. He wasn’t the shining example of the police force before the injury, but his newfound addiction causes him to go to desperate lengths.
This movie has been booked as a drama in many of the reviews I’ve read, but I can’t exactly agree. I think it’s a sort of crime film with lots of hallucinatory comedy added. Cage is pretty great here, and I’m glad to see him return to the career he was supposed to have after Raising Arizona. As for the direction, it’s what one might expect from a Werner Herzog film. He walks a dangerous line between genius and ridiculous when he does things like give iguanas that only McDonagh can see a trippy closeup for about 3 minutes.
If you don’t mind a little strangeness and noir in your movies, and are also looking to see a great performance by Nic Cage, definitely watch this. Though, it’s going to run very limited in theaters, it appears. Waiting for the DVD will be just as good.
