Bad Lieutenant: Werner Herzog’s maniacal masterpiece
Post 2000s Werner Herzog is something of an oddity compared to other directors. Whilst he has spent a large portion of his time making documentaries, such as Grizzly Man or Into the Inferno, he has gone on to make some rather strange feature films that have divided his long time fans. One of his most panned films would be 2016’s Salt and Fire; featuring Michael Shannon and Veronica Ferres. In classic Herzog style; S&F is a hard film to define, it’s sci-fi without any science and it’s thrilling but definitely not a thriller. Truly an absurd film about climate change and mankind’s ecological destruction; not a theme unfamiliar in Herzog’s work.
Alongside Bad Lieutenant in 2009 he released My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done; a terribly named but masterfully created Lynchian take on suburban America. Lynch actually produced the film and managed to get Grace Zabriskie (Sarah Palmer, Twin Peaks) on board who gives an outstanding performance alongside Michael Shannon, Willem Dafoe and Chloe Sevigny; quite the cast. There is a lot to say about this film on its own, it’s very odd, awkward and oozes dark humour. Almost feels like Herzog’s ode to the Twin Peak franchise, a film that tackles trauma and depression in a similar way to Fire Walk With Me. Watching these films might seem like Herzog has gone truly mad, or maybe he always was; after all he did create a film about a man pushing a cruise ship over a hill to harvest rubber.
Herzog’s career trajectory is quite strange in some ways. Looking at the incredible and poetic beauty in his films such as Nosferatu or Aguirre and contrasting them with the griminess of Bad Lieutenant; it almost feels as if it is a totally different director. However, his films have often featured similar characters, the late Klaus Kinski was known to be one of the most chaotic actors of all time both on screen and off. Placing maniacal characters alongside beautiful backdrops is exactly what we see here with Bad Lieutenant. Cage runs absolutely unhinged across the beautiful yet grim streets of New Orleans.
My first viewing of Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans was when I was in college. After me and my friends saw a few clips of Nic Cage freaking out on camera in scenes from this film, we decided to add it to our “Cage-a-thon” we had planned. Whilst I thought the film was pretty good, I didn’t really pay much attention to actual details of the film; having no idea who Werner Herzog was and not truly understanding how much of a masterpiece this film is. As well as this I had never seen Abel Ferrara’s original Bad Lieutenant, which I now believe to be an all time classic; a repugnant tale of catholic redemption and spiralling drug addiction. Herzog has said himself he wasn’t even aware it was a remake when presented with the film; and after a short feud both seem to be friends now.
“The California Klaus Kinski” was something that Cage referred to himself as even before he took upon the role of the corrupt and sinister police officer. Werner Herzog claimed that he wouldn’t sign onto the movie unless Cage played the lead role and likewise, Cage wouldn’t sign on if Herzog was not the director; both appreciated each other’s works and decided it was some sort of twisted fate they work together on this project. Cage and Keitel give two very different but two completely mesmerising performances. Keitel is much more subtle in his corruption and also far less maniacal; the scene in which he stops two women and sexually abuses them is one of the more horrific moments in cinema.
Abel Ferrara’s film has this never ending, rampant nihilism that becomes a somewhat painful film to watch. Keitel’s never ending destruction and conquest for redemption is powerful but incredibly depressing. What we get with Port of Call is much more humane, there are barely any comedic elements in the Ferrara version contrasting with Herzog’s adaption which has some of the funniest scenes I’ve genuinely ever witnessed. Most noticeably is the scene where Cage commands Xzibit and his 2 henchmen to shoot a man again because his soul is still dancing; I’m sure most have seen that clip. Whilst both giving performances of a lifetime, Cage’s character is much more likeable, whilst he commits atrocities he also makes you laugh. Alongside this his relationship with Eva Mendez’s character is actually really well done, somewhat reminded me of the one Cage has in Leaving Las Vegas. Some form of human emotion is left in Cage’s character, whereas I don’t think we can say that for Harvey Keitel.
Most noticeable about this film is that it is essentially Nicolas Cage’s playground, it’s his movie, his world. There is absolutely nobody else who could play the role of Terence McDonagh; even Herzog himself agrees. Despite this you can still tell it’s a Werner Herzog film, his odd soundtrack choices, terrific filming style and strange obsession with animals is all here. One thing I found interesting is the reference he makes back to one of his earlier films, Stroszek, a film about a German man immigrating to America with a prostitute he has fallen in love with; it’s a terrific film. In the aforementioned soul scene there is a very hectic country song playing whilst the dead man break dances; this song is used at the end of Stroszek too, in which a selection of chickens and ducks dance inside cages. Iguanas and crocodiles make incredibly absurd appearances throughout Bad Lieutenant, as a Herzog fan this is somewhat to be expected really, he has a tendency to add animals in at the most bizarre moments.
Remakes are often a tough task to tackle, often directors either stick to what made the original film good or go in a totally new direction; always leaving some fans disappointed. In my opinion Herzog manages to find the balance of those two points. Whilst it has lots of similarities to the original with regards to the characters and themes there is enough differences to make the film feel fresh and original. Taking the film in a more comedic direction could of totally ruined the dark and moody atmosphere but it only elevates it to a different level. Whilst Herzog still debates this was never a remake, I am pretty sure it was intended to be, he just wasn’t aware of it.
Herzog has never been a director to play by the rules; to direct Aguirre in 1972 he stole a camera from Munich Film School and for his 1976 film Heart of Glass he hypnotised his entire cast so they would act differently. Even in 2009 he filmed in China illegally for My Son, My Son. His films do not play by any rules either often featuring incredibly well written anti heroes. Klaus Kinski in Fitzcarraldo is a great example of this; a character who has genuine intentions but slowly descends into fanaticism. Terrence is no different here, first we see a police officer diving into water to save a criminal and slowly watch him descend into chaos. However, Herzog does not do this in a very nihilistic way, he never creates characters that are truly repugnant without any humanity. Herzog shows us that even at someone’s most chaotic and abhorrent there can still be glimmers of compassion.
