{"id":1011,"date":"2012-03-20T06:26:42","date_gmt":"2012-03-20T06:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.michaeltuckerauthor.com\/aquarius_falling\/?p=273"},"modified":"2012-03-20T06:26:42","modified_gmt":"2012-03-20T06:26:42","slug":"the-bad-lieutenant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/michaeltuckerauthor.com\/2012\/03\/20\/the-bad-lieutenant\/","title":{"rendered":"Harvey Keitel versus Nicolas Cage-The Bad Lieutenant"},"content":{"rendered":"

$\"Mike$ <\/a>Bad Lieutenant versus Bad Lieutenant
\nHarvey Keitel versus Nicolas Cage
\nAbel Ferrara versus Werner Herzog<\/strong><\/p>\n

\tI love it when you can compare two takes on the same movie. Let\u2019s talk about Port of Call first. Director Werner Herzog likes to say his 2009 movie is a rethought not a remake of Mr. Ferrara\u2019s 1992 film. And forget about a sequel \u2013 definitely not a sequel. I\u2019ll give it to Mr. Herzog, probably rethought is a good word choice. The only thing the two films have in common is the character driven storyline about a bad cop.
\n\tAs the subtitle implies, the story takes place in NOLA, post Katrina. Mr. Cage plays NOPD Detective, Terrence McDonagh. We\u2019re provided with a backstory that shows McDonagh injuring himself while doing a good deed. This leads to an addiction to pain pills, which then leads to an addiction to everything else and the character spirals downward.
\n\tMcDonagh is portrayed as basically a good person gone bad due to his addiction. He does do bad things in the course of rounding up bad guys. Incredibly, the Mr. Herzog has managed to inject humor into this dark story. McDonagh is given to occasional hallucinations; these can be very funny scenes. This is a good movie, especially if you are a fan of Mr. Cage\u2019s work. His acting in this film is excellent; his maniacal laughter makes his McDonagh more scary than funny, which is what you want in this movie. Eva Mendes and Val Kilmer put in appearances as prostitute buddy and police partner buddy, respectively, to McDonagh.
\n\tIf you want to watch both of these movies, watch Port of Call New Orleans first. I\u2019m glad I did. It enabled me to enjoy both movies. That would not have happened if I saw the 1992 version with Harvey Keitel first. One is a good movie, the other is a great movie, and that is the key difference between the two.
\n\tMr. Ferrara provides no backstory to explain or justify The Lieutenant\u2019s (he is not given a name in the movie) bad behavior. He\u2019s just bad, really bad, psychopathically bad. This guy is so bad that he might be refused entrance to Hell by Satin himself. Tension is built throughout the film and you are biting your nails to the end. Mr. Keitel\u2019s acting is beyond great. Somehow he has channeled the anger and evil of the character to the point that you think you might be watching the real thing.
\n\tThe real thing also occurs the second Zoe Lund enters a frame of film. Ms. Lund, a former musician, model, actress, and screenwriter, took my breath away with her beauty and acting. She is credited as one of the writers of Bad Lieutenant. Her performance is brilliant. She appears in only a couple of scenes as the Lieutenant\u2019s heroin shooting companion. There is a tragic reason that she adds realism to these scenes.
\n\tThe dual plotlines deal with the Lieutenant\u2019s gambling addiction and the rape of a nun. This film may disturb your religious sensibilities but it is a film about redemption. Just be forewarned, don\u2019t let children near this film. There is male and female full frontal nudity, in addition to vulgar language and disturbing drug scenes. If you can get past these issues you will be rewarded with a outstanding film that will be hard to forget.
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