Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is a crime drama starring Nic Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, and Alvin Joiner (Xzibit) and directed by Werner Herzog. The film follows the corrupt Lieutenant Terence McDonagh (Cage) who is hopelessly addicted to various narcotics to cope with the pain of an injury sustained while working during Hurricane Katrina. His corruption is enabled by his police partner Det. Stevie Pruit (Kilmer), who struggles with violent tendencies that get in the way of his own police work. Frankie (Mendes), is a sexworker and frequent fling for McDonagh who is an unstable supplier for his drug habits. McDonagh shows that he is a capable investigator as he is trying to manage his life seemingly crumbling around him due to his addictions as he is trying to solve the murder of a Senegalese family who have crossed the drug lord "Big Fate" (Xzibit).
Bad Lieutenant remains puzzling to me, even after rewatching it nearly ten years after my first exposure. There are elements of the movie that I really like, such as the sprawling corruption that McDonagh finds himself navigating not only to fuel his addictions to various narcotics, but his ongoing gambling debts as well. The portrayal of this addiction by Cage oscillates between larger than life and grounded deep in terra firma, and Cage is a man who is right for the job. There are a few sequences that border on the surreal that are explained by him being high at the time which are welcome to break up the harsh reality; these moments really act as a kind of black comedy, distracting even for a moment from the seriousness of the events of the film that come before them. I was not a fan of the way the movie started with what seemed a polished edit of the scene in the jail where McDonagh is deliberating whether to save an inmate from the rising flood waters of Hurricane Katrina, and shifting to almost a documentary style shooting. This seemingly drastic shift could be seen as anachronistic and jarring serving as a detriment to the quality of the movie, but as I sit with the movie more, I see it as an expression of Terence's state of mind as he becomes more encumbered by his drug use as time goes on; in other words, his perception of the world is unapologetically shown to the viewer as time progresses.
But what is it that bugs me about the movie? I think it has to do with the lack of closure that it provides. At the end of the movie, McDonagh is at the same place ethically as he was at the beginning. I do not want to provide an edict that all movies must provide closure - some stories require that tension and ambiguity with the viewer to maintain its impact. It may just be my own personal sense of justice that gets in my way of sitting with the ending, as I chafe trying to prove why my sense of justice for this officer is better than the eventual portrayal on screen. Do I want him to be held accountable? Do I want him to become clean from his vices, like everyone around him? I certainly do. But I think the film achieves its goal of making the viewer uncomfortable by the continued promotion of corrupted individuals and how they are able to circumvent punishment by the law because of the positions they abuse. I think that this movie is required viewing for those who are interested in Nic Cage and his career, only because I think there is a greater need for discourse surrounding movies that leave the viewer unsatisfied. Take Inception as an example. Does the totem stop spinning at the end of the movie? Because it is not shown on screen, as Leonardo DiCaprio's Cobb walks away cutting the scene away from the conclusion of whether he remains in a dream. That isn't the point. The point is he is finally able to join and enjoy his children. What is the point of Bad Lieutenant? I think the point is that no matter what, some corrupt officials may never be found out, instead to be rewarded for their usefulness. Regardless, I believe that this movie can bring us into an aspect of human life that is challenging and unrewarding. And that is okay.
No comments:
Post a Comment