Nicolas Cage is the New Orleans cop who,
Evil surfaces, like the water snake in the opening clip. To feed his addiction, Cage's lieutenant abuses his authority continually, confiscates drugs for his own use, and ultimately allies himself to a drug kingpin in order to pay off his gambling debt and thugs who are threatening his prostitute girlfriend. Cage and his girlfriend, played by Eva Mendez, are deep in some serious shit, and the end result is a surprising series of magically real events. There’s a touch of magical realism in the cameo appearances by several iguanas and an alligator or two, in addition to a break dancing soul. It’s all plausible in the magical realist tradition, especially since the hallucinations supposedly come from Cage’s perspective after smoking dope.
This is another masterfully made movie from Herzog, with an amazing performance from Cage. It’s sinister film noir-ish comedy that reminded me somewhat of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. But while Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant, a post-Katrina New Orleans crime story, is simultaneously sadly real and fantastic, the story tells us what you do comes back to you, and basically, too, that we need each other.
New Feature! Ratings! Not recommended for protected children, sheltered grannies, or the like.