Lev Lewis reporting from the Toronto International Film Festival.Just came from a screening of The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans and let me just say that it's an insane, rollicking and at times brilliant piece of cinema. I wasn't expecting my thoughts to be anything but negative, but Werner Herzog and Nicolas Cage really hit this one out of the park.
It's easily Cage's best performance since Adaptation; at this point I'd even say that the Academy owes him some recognition. Believe me that's not something I thought I'd be saying after the appalling work Cage has done in the last few years. But in The Bad Lieutenant he takes all his absurd, comical ticks and mannerisms and creates a bizarre, thrilling character that carries the lunatic film.
Editors note: "WHAT?"It's truly a once in a lifetime experience. They've constructed a ludicrous and hilarious takedown of the cop genre that's imbued with Herzog's unique sensibility.
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6 comments:
Allow me to echo the editor's note. Though I will say that Cage is fascinating to watch.
I can't shake a sense of the emperor's new clothes around this film -- if, say, John Dahl's name replaced Herzog's in the credits, I don't think anyone would be talking about it. And it's so dully crafted.
The positive buzz around this film has been very intriguing. I think Nic Cage is a great actor, but, yes, he has done a lot of crap lately. Good to see him back on the map.
I'm glad to hear that you think so, because I saw it at Telluride and everybody I was with thought that it was fantastic. The next day I talked to a bunch of other people who absolutely hated it, and most of the buzz I've seen online has been very negative, but I haven't laughed so hard at a movie in a very long time. You kind of have to buy into the weird, unfamiliar thing that it is to enjoy it, I think, but once you do it becomes an intensely enjoyable experience.
I am actually looking forward to this movie. It sounds bonkers! Unfortunately, it won't be like The Black Dahlia where that movies pure deranged psychoticness was only discovered whilst watching.
I don't know about awards consideration, but he's right. The movie's a blast.
Is this spun off the Harvey Keitel film? Do we see Nic Cage's penis?
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