I am so happy to have Nicolas Cage back.
The man’s career began so well, with idiosyncratic work in commercial films like VALLEY GIRL and RAISING ARIZONA. But then he went for the money, shaming himself in the unwatchable CON AIR and pandering to audiences with pictures like WIND TALKERS and BANGKOK DANGEROUS. Sure, there was the occasional LORD OF WAR or the wackiness of GHOST RIDER to remind us Cage still harbored that spark of genius, but I thought that the risk-taking phase of the man’s career had passed.
KICK-ASS seemed a fluke, a one-off. But THE BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL -NEW ORLEANS confirms that Nicolas Cage has dialed himself back in. Not only is he crazy as hell in this remake of BAD LIEUTENANT, he’s also absolutely outstanding as a physical actor.
It begins with the walk. Early in the film, Cage’s character (the eponymous bad lieutenant) injures his back. The actor walks like a guy with a bad back, a guy who’s trying to gut out his pain and stay on the job anyway. As the film progresses and the lieutenant deteriorates, the back gets worse. Cage distorts his body, for a time grows Nixon-like. Toward the end, he becomes both Frankenstein’s Monster and Igor, both trapped in the same body. It’s amazing. And I haven’t even mentioned the sleep deprivation.
Look, everyone knows that Nicolas Cage can do crazy eyes. We’ve got that. But this progressive physical distortion is a testament to craft and discipline. Can you imagine finding just the right posture for a character going through so many phases of unwellness, day after day and take after take? The achievement rivals Lon Chaney. I’m impressed.
As for the film, it’s a Werner Herzog picture, for crying out loud. Of course it’s outstanding. It might even blow your mind. See it.
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