Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans

2009/US/122mins
Dir: Werner Herzog
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer

Nicolas Cage is Terence McDonagh, a rogue detective as devoted to his job as he is at scoring drugs. Playing fast and loose with the law, he wields his badge as often as he wields his gun in order to get his way.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, McDonagh becomes a high—functioning addict who is a deeply intuitive, fearless detective reigning over the beautiful ruins of New Orleans with authority and abandon. Complicating his tumultuous life is the prostitute he loves (played by Eva Mendes). Together they descend into their own world marked by desire, compulsion, and conscience.

The result is a singular masterpiece of filmmaking: equally sad and manically humorous.

‘Werner Herzog’s devil-may-care insouciance has paid off brilliantly in this mesmerising thriller’ The Guardian