Plot: What’s it about?
Pardon the pun, but I do believe that Nicholas Cage is a National Treasure. See what I did there? Yes, amusing myself is my equivalent to Nicholas Cage doing a strange film. Kidding aside, I think it’s safe to say that we’ve got a few different iterations of Cage in film. He’s been at it (as of this writing) for four decades and has given us some fine performances, even taking home the Best Actor Academy Award for Leaving Las Vegas. But after his “leading man/action” star days of the mid to late 90’s were said and done (The Rock, Con-Air and Snake Eyes come to mind), Cage took a different path in his career. In the last decade he’s given us some fairly memorable performances in some rather offbeat films like Color Out of Space, Mandy and Longlegs to name just a few. And now we’ve got The Surfer, a film by Lorcan Finnegan who gave us Vivarium – a film which took me about a week to shake off. Let’s see if he’s lost his touch or not.
Nicholas Cage plays a character known only as “The Surfer”. He’s on the cusp of fulfilling his dream as he’s returned to the Australian beach town where he grew up. He’s just put an offer on his house that his late father owned and when he tries to take his son surfing, they’re confronted by a group of locals led by Scally (Julian McMahon, in one of his last roles). They threaten them until they leave, but the Surfer keeps tensions high by continuing to engage them. They realize this and proceed to torment him. He’s not afraid to “poke the bear” which only tends to escalate the problem. Eventually the intense heat, hunger and thirst start to overcome him making him only more vulnerable to this gang of thugs. For the viewer – its creates an atmosphere of anxiety.
A majority of the roles that Nicholas Cage takes on seem to have a common theme in that you can’t really picture anyone else in that role. That’s a good thing. We all know Cage to be a bit…eccentric, but he is a truly talented performer and many of his creative choices translate into some rather unforgettable films. The Surfer falls squarely in that category. I’d mentioned in the introductory paragraph that it took me “a week to shake off…” Vivarium. I wasn’t kidding. It had an eerie vibe to it that just seemed to stick with me. This one, in many ways, is the same. I’ve had this experience before with films that tend to stay with me long after the credits roll and, to me, that’s a good thing. For those that are fans of Cage’s later works, this fits in squarely with them and for those that like his earlier stuff, he’s still got plenty of life left in him.
Video: How’s it look?
The word “stylized” immediately came to mind when watching this film. And, truthfully, that’s the best way to describe it. It’s like most of the movie takes place inside a burning oven. Granted, I’ve never been to Australia, but I have to imagine that it doesn’t look like this. If it does, I’ll cross that continent off my “to see” list immediately. Then again, I realize that the overall look/aesthetic was manipulated and the 2.39:1 HEVC image does take advantage of color and contrast. Detail is a bit inconsistent, though with modern-day camera equipment, I have to assume that this is a result of a creative choice as opposed to a fault of the transfer. Reds and oranges dominate, giving way for a weird azure blue sky, blackish waters and piercing blue eyes. It’s an interesting-looking image, to be sure – but it fits with the theme of the film.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The included Dolby Atmos soundtrack is, again…a bit avant garde to say the least. But, like the video, it seems to fit with the motif of the film and helps it “work.” Vocals are sharp and crisp and I don’t think I’ve ever heard more raspiness in vocals in quite some time. It’s also odd to hear actor Julian McMahon speak in his native tongue after several decades of playing mostly American-based characters. Surrounds are used effectively and often, though the front stage handles most of the action. The LFE are a lot more involved than I’d have thought as well. It’s a nice-sounding track that, at some points, tests the limits of your system.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Audio Commentary – Director Lorcan Finnegan gives us just what we want – an informative commentary that’s packed to the gills with information about the script, the shoot and of course – working with Nicholas Cage. He comments on Thomas Martin’s script as well as casting, shooting Australia and more. It’s a great track for a rather offbeat film.
- Through a Wave Darkly: Making The Surfer – We’ve got the obligatory “Making of…” feature with comments from the cast and crew as well as the standard behind the scenes footage. We’ve seen it all before, but it’s got a few choice moments.
- Theatrical Trailer
The Bottom Line
There’ll likely never be the Nicholas Cage we saw in the 90’s. Some might appreciate that and others might not. But to his credit, he does pick some rather unique roles and I for one like that he does. The Surfer is certainly an interesting film to watch, but Lionsgate’s 4K disc offers up a stellar A/V presentation.
