Russell Towery

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans -- Terence McDonagh is a drug- and gambling-addled detective in post-Katrina New Orleans investigating the killing of five Senegalese immigrants.

Based on the play by Sam Shepard, this trailer-trash drama pits a pitiful family against con men ranging from sleazy bar owners to shady real estate agents. Adapted for the screen by Bruce Beresford.

In Werner Herzog’s new film Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans, Nicolas Cage plays a rogue detective who is as devoted to his job as he is to scoring drugs—while playing fast and loose with the law. He wields his badge as often as he wields his gun in order to get his way. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he becomes a high-functioning addict who is a deeply intuitive, fearless detective reigning over the beautiful ruins of New Orleans with authority and abandon. Complicating his tumultuous life is the prostitute he loves (played by Eva Mendes) and together they descend into their own world marked by desire, compulsion, and conscience. The result is a singular masterpiece of filmmaking: equally sad and manically humorous.

A poverty-stricken farming family attempts to put food on the table while holding on to their personal dreams of a better life. However, as they individually pursue their own dreams, the family unity begins to disintegrate, until they are all alienated from each other.