GFF 2010: Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

Oh, what a joy it is that Werner Herzog and Nicolas Cage have found each other! Their Bad Lieutenant runs along broadly similar lines to Abel Ferrara's film of the same name – depicting as it does the misadventures of a corrupt, drug-taking cop – but this maverick pair have taken it in a deliriously entertaining new direction. Typically, Herzog shows little interest in the standard conventions of the crime genre, and some viewers may be disappointed with the arbitrary nature of the plotting (although the neat manner in which that plot is resolved is priceless). There are too many opportunities to enjoy oneself to quibble over flaws as Herzog serves up a series of surreal sequences and pushes his star to new heights of unpredictability. Whether he's hallucinating iguanas or brutally interrogating a wheelchair-bound old lady, Cage's performance is a hoot, and Herzog lets his madcap energy drive the film forward. The result is something unique, slightly deranged and compulsively watchable.