At a Q & A session several months ago, director Werner Herzog - hyped-up over his last release (Encounters at the end of the World) - focused for a second or two on his "then" next project which was about to be wrapped that week (July 2009).
"I call it the 'Bad-Ass' Lieutenant'," he chuckled to a rapt audience comprised mostly of twenty-something film buffs, there to take in two top-notch films lensed by Herzog, and to honor a man thick in every aspect of the fascinating (but draining) process of filmmaking.
Post: 07/30/09
http://ijulian.blogspot.com/2008/09/werner-herzogattends-screening-of.html
He was quick to tout the acting prowess of lead actor, Nicolas Cage, who slipped under the skin of the fascinating character and sported it like a comfortable old shoe.
In the tragic dark comedy (a take-off on Abel Ferrar's classic cult offering in 1992) - Cage plays a cop sidelined by an addiction to prescription drugs - bent on maintaining sanity in spite of the odds against it.
Due to a scheduling conflict, I was unable to catch the Herzog feature which screened last week( photographed in a keen naturalistic style), but intend to saunter into a theatre in the near future to get the low-down first-hand since I am a big fan of Mr. Herzog (a director's director, by the way).
The buzz?
Cage's performance is being hailed as a bravado break-through revelation in some circles.
"Cage gives a hypnotic performance," gushed Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times), for instance.
Allegedly there was a lot at stake for the surly actor known to be a trouble-maker in past incarnations.
The response to "Bad Lieutenant" hasn't been half-bad from film critics.
According to Manohla Dargis at the New York Times:
"One of the best movies of Mr. Herzog's career. Here Mr. Cage and Mr. Herzog take you into a hell that leads straight to movie heaven."
Herzog must be floating on a cloud!
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