In August 2005, New Orleans police sergeant Terence McDonagh is evacuating a police precinct during Hurricane Katrina. While packing up another officer’s locker, he notices paperwork indicating that a prisoner may still be present in the jail, which should have been evacuated due to rising floodwaters. On investigating, he finds a prisoner indeed about to drown; he and his partner, Stevie Pruit, mock the man’s predicament and debate waiting for the fire department to do the job, but ultimately McDonagh jumps in to rescue him. He suffers a back injury in the process and is prescribed Vicodin to manage the pain. The department decides to treat the incident as heroic, and McDonagh is given a medal “for extreme valor in the line of duty” and promoted to lieutenant.
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Six months later, McDonagh is now not only addicted to painkillers, but is habitually using several other drugs including cocaine and cannabis. His girlfriend Frankie Donnenfeld, a prostitute, also does cocaine and they often share drugs. He has convinced Heidi, a former co-worker now in another police division, to bring him drugs sent to the evidence room. He has become estranged from his father Pat, a recovering alcoholic, and his alcoholic stepmother, Genevieve. Over the course of the film, he uses his position as an officer to bully people and steal more drugs.
McDonagh is assigned to investigate the murders of five illegal immigrants from Senegal, who were killed for selling drugs in a gang leader’s neighborhood. The gang leader, Big Fate, has two associates: Midget and G. After both are arrested, Big Fate willingly comes to the police station with his lawyer. As they try to gather evidence against Big Fate, McDonagh goes back to a hotel room where he finds Frankie beaten by one of her clients, a seemingly well-connected man named Justin. McDonagh threatens Justin and takes $10,000 from him. Later on, a delivery boy who was an auditory witness of the murder scene goes missing. McDonagh finds the witness’s grandmother, who works at a nursing home, and threatens to kill one of her patients to make her divulge where the witness has gone.
In the gripping tale of a troubled police officer navigating addiction, crime, and redemption, “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” delivers a thrilling narrative that keeps viewers engaged. Watch the full movie free and witness Terence McDonagh’s journey unfold amidst the gritty backdrop of New Orleans.