Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

Nicolas Cage returns to his early risk-taking roots in director Werner Herzog's wild updating of Abel Ferrara's grim 1992 portrait of a cop's total meltdown. Cage's Terence McDonagh is hardly a credit to the force in the post-Katrina Big Easy: raucous and reckless on the job, Terence has a girlfriend (Eva Mendes) who's also an upscale prostitute, is deeply in debt to his bookie (Brad Dourif), and takes lots of nonprescription drugs—which he often procures by shaking down club-goers. Still, when handed a case involving the killing of a Senegalese family linked to the drug trade, Terence treats it seriously. But tracking down the perpetrators is not the main narrative thread; instead, the focus here is on McDonagh's deepening personal troubles. Ultimately, Bad Lieutenant is a story of redemption—albeit unearned (even perversely wrongheaded)—with shocking and absurd twists that give the film a loopy charge. Far from being the typical action movie Cage has so often starred in, this one turns genre conventions on their head to often uproarious effect, with the actor making great use of his penchant for bombastic rage and hysteria. Cage's over-the-top performance makes this a wickedly funny black comedy. Highly recommended. [Note: Although the DVD carries no extras beyond trailers, Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” featurette (31 min.) and a digital photography book with photos by director Werner Herzog's wife Lena. Bottom line: a decent Blu-ray extras package for a winning film.] (F. Swietek)