Each year we get a weird and unsettling Nic Cage movie.
A father takes his son surfing at the beach he grew up with. But when the locals don’t take kindly to their appearance, the father risks everything to keep his dream alive.
The Surfer is a grim but striking movie directed by Lorcan Finnegan, starring Nicolas Cage. A wide Australian cast include Julian McMahon (the early 2000s Fantastic Four movies), Rory O’Keefe, Rahel Romahn, and Alexander Bertrand. Nic Cage is no slouch when it comes to picking unorthodox roles for himself these days. This is no more apparent with The Surfer; in fact, his mere presence suggests not everything is at it seems.
The Surfer is a lot of things, and it may prove to be upsetting to some audiences. A lot of what’s going on is intriguing and web-like, but the overall effect left me somewhat wanting.
We start out with narration from Nic Cage’s character as he drives his son to the beach of his childhood, making out that waves are a metaphor for life: “You either surf the wave or you wipe out.” His son though, doesn’t seem convinced. It transpires that this father is quite overbearing; he intends to buy back his old family house just for his estranged son. This house being close to this beach. The beach he wants his son to surf just as he did. But all of these plans are cast into jeopardy as the local surfers threaten them and drive them forcefully from the beach. How far is this man willing to go for his dream?
The positives first. This film looks great. Director Lorcan Finnegan has depicted the blistering heat of Australia perfectly here, complete with added film grain for that retro look. Colours pop. The film is set within a beach parking lot and the film expands this space very effectively. Introducing new characters and elements to slowly ramp up the complexity. The performances are raw and often uncomfortable; the camera getting right into actors’ faces. Such was the intent, I felt quite on edge after watching the film.
The narrative is chock-full of subtexts, many of which are fascinating and unsettling. The biggest one is masculine toxicity; with the surfers who deny Cage’s character access to the beach. Nic Cage is given plenty of range to perform here; a whole gamut of emotion.
The plot of adversity and trials rears its head regularly; with our protagonist suffering slings and arrows from all sides. All for a dream and a childhood he longs to recapture. There is a fierce scepticism of nostalgia, of looking backwards. The film keeps things fresh with some unsettling use of subversion and trickery, coupled with the terrible haze of the Australian heat, it gives a great effect. The father’s one ally appears to be a crazy old man who is stuck living in the car park. Who is this old man…?
The negatives are a bit more subjective, perhaps. For all of these subtexts and interwoven concepts, the final piece feels underwhelming. Or at least, the overall purpose of the movie feels obscured. Is this a plot about a father overcoming some inferiority complex from childhood? Is this about a father letting go of childhood? Maybe it is about a father becoming a better parent? Perhaps it is an existential pit of a mid-life crisis? Maybe it is all of these things. As a result The Surfer is an intriguing time but left me feeling bereft, and a little paranoid.
It is excellent at driving unpleasant people into the foreground. Thugs who enjoy belittling and terrorizing others. It is also very good at giving a weird, dreamlike quality to events. The second act is perhaps the most fascinating as the audience are picking up pieces of evidence and wondering: “Is this what’s happening?” Breadcrumb trails that may be leading somewhere. But also maybe not.
It is a surrealist movie, with a grim countenance and violent tendency. Humour leaks through occasionally, and Cage is always fun to watch. But I can imagine the film’s bleaker undercurrents, its critique of nostalgia, could rub audiences the wrong way.
