The Herald - The Herald Magazine
There’s nothing stranger than fiction for Cage
Damon Smith reviews the latest new releases to watch in the cinema
THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT (15)
A wise man once said, “Some things are true whether you believe in them or not.”
That modern philosopher was Nicolas Cage, sermonising on the fragility of life to a cynical Meg
Ryan (playing a surgeon) in the
1998 metaphysical romance City Of Angels. The same Hollywood seer who thwarted a terrorist attack on Alcatraz in The Rock and revealed, “I love pressure. I eat it for breakfast!” then bullishly redefined the art of 1990s courtship in Face/ Off by petitioning an air hostess, “If I were to let you suck my tongue, would you be grateful?”
Choice excerpts and memorabilia from the entire Nicolas Cage oeuvre (even the Golden Globe-nominated Guarding Tess) festoon Tom Gormican’s delightful black comedy, which invites the Californian star to play a fictionalised version of himself at manic full volume.
From its opening frames – a kidnapping orchestrated during a screening of Con Air – The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent is a love letter to the leading man and his indelible mark on popular culture in the 40 years since his big screen debut in Fast Times At Ridgemont High.
Cage has a blast poking fun at himself in a freewheeling script co-written by Gormican and Kevin Etten, which introduces a pottymouthed voice of conscience called Nicky: a fresh-faced Wild At Heartera incarnation of Cage that only the actor can see... and smooch during one memorably deranged pep talk.
The film’s exaggerated version of Nick Cage is a Hollywood star with the same resume, who is separated from his ex-wife Olivia (Sharon Horgan), a make-up artist on Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.
Unable to connect with his 16-year-old daughter Addy (Lily Sheen), Nick has been staying at the Sunset Tower hotel for over a year, racking up a bill of 600,000 dollars on top of existing debts.
When his agent Fink (Neil Patrick Harris) relays an offer of a million dollars to attend the lavish birthday party of billionaire super fan Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal), Nick reluctantly agrees. Javi made his fortune peddling olive oil but CIA agents Vivian (Tiffany Haddish) and
Martin (Ike Barinholtz) suspect he is an international weapons dealer with ties to the recent abduction of a Catalonian presidential candidate’s daughter (Katrin Vankova).
When Vivian and Martin learn Nick is guest of honour at Javi’s celebrations in Mallorca, they pressgang the actor into the service of his country to spy on his host.
The Unbearable Weight Of
Massive Talent is a trip – literally when Nick and Javi take a chaotic LSD-fuelled road trip to spark their creativity. Pascal catalyses an affectionate screen bromance with Cage, the two actors bouncing off each other smartly as the script contemplates the regrets of an artist, who worked to live, at the expense of personal relationships.
In Gone In 60 Seconds, Cage’s car thief bellows, “I’m a little tired, I’m little wired and I think I deserve a little appreciation!”
Gormican’s picture answers his cry, with scenery-chewing gusto.
PLAYGROUND (15)
7/10
BELGIUM’S official entry for Best International Feature Film at this year’s Academy Awards is a sobering portrait of childhood tribalism that pulls no punches in its unsettling depiction of the cruelty of those so-called wonder years.
Shot exclusively within the gates and corridors of an elementary school, director Laura Wandel’s naturalistic picture focuses intently on shy seven-year-old Nora (Maya Vanderbeque), a new arrival at the institution. Her older brother Abel (Gunter Duret) is a few grades above her and Nora witnesses some of the older boys bullying him without any form of retaliation.
Nora is shocked by the harassment and doesn’t understand why Abel is reluctant to involve their father, and surely put an end to his suffering. She becomes deeply conflicted by the best course of action to spare Abel his hellish and violent ordeal. 7/10
HAPPENING (15)
THE divisive issue of abortion is deeply woven into the narrative threads of director Audrey Diwan’s hard-hitting drama, which she co-wrote with Marcia Romano.
Adapted from Annie Ernaux’s autobiographical novel, Happening unfolds in 1963 rural France – a time of rigid morality when women would be shamed for embracing their sexuality and strict laws prohibited an unwed mother from terminating the pregnancy.
College student Annie (Amamaria Vartolomei) enjoys a dalliance with a visiting student (Julien Frison) and is horrified a few weeks later to discover that she is expecting his child. Unable to disclose the truth to her mother (Sandrine Bonnaire) or dormitory sisters Brigitte (Louise Orry-Diquero) and Helene (Luana Bajrami), Annie seeks guidance from doctors (Fabrizio Rongione, Francois Loriquet) and even one of her classmates, Jean (Kacey Mottet Klein).
Unfortunately, there is no easy solution and Annie soldiers on alone. As her grades suffer and dreams of becoming a teacher evaporate, Annie faces the prospect of single motherhood and disappointing her professor (Pio Marmai).