The Surfer
The Surfer is playing in theaters at the time of writing. Rated R. Common Sense says 15+.
An unnamed man (who goes by “The Surfer” and is played by Nicolas Cage) brings his son to his childhood surf spot in western Australia. A scrappy gang of locals aren’t happy about his reappearance.
STORY: C+
Small setting. Big stakes.
Nicolas Cage rarely ventures more than a couple hundred yards from the parking lot that transforms into a scorching jail cell, complete with a torturous ocean view that taunts him by being so close yet so far away.
We want The Surfer to escape. We want the movie to expand past its tight borders. The longer both he and we remain pent up, the higher the pressure goes.
PEOPLE: B
Restrained Cage is still bonkers Cage.
Cage is one of the most outwardly, physically expressive performers of our time. Here, the jittery gymnastics occur inside of him, and it’s quite compelling.
The rest of the cast, whose main directive is to drive The Surfer far past the point of mere insanity, poke and prod him throughout. They’re fantastic, as approachable as a pack of cobras who’ve been pounding Red Bulls since sunrise.
FILM NERD STUFF: B
Feel the heat.
The color palette and the wavy lenswork work together to create an absolute scorcher of a day. Sweat beads on our own foreheads, even though the theater’s AC is fully functional.
It’s another effective way to make us feel as if we’re in that parking lot with him, drawing us further into a deep state of empathy.
ONE BIG LESSON: C+
Be careful what you wish for.
Cage’s aspirations come with a cost steeper than Mt. Everest: his humanity. It’s up to him to decide if the cost is worth it.
We all will likely face such a choice at some point. The movie makes plain the consequences of both options.
FINAL COMMENTS:
No surprise here, but Nicolas Cage fans will not be disappointed.
The film unspools like a trippy, 70s throwback. While it touches on timely issues, it’s consistently more concerned about creating tension and exploring oddities than offering any deep commentary. And that is more than ok.