The Surfer

The Surfer

Nicolas Cage descends into rage (again)

The Surfer is a balding middle-aged guy, a bit of a poser, driving a Lexus to the Australian coast. He wants to show his dream house to his son. The property once belonged to his family, so he’s a little obsessed about getting it back. He will spend his last penny to accomplish it, he will even sell his soul. On the beach, he gets into an altercation with the local surfers who rule the area. From that moment on, everything goes wrong. Our protagonist has no idea what is real and what is a figment of his imagination. He slowly slips into madness. Or is the madness slipping into the Surfer? Does it matter? What does matter is that you’re in for one of the most interesting thrillers of the year, a movie so original and twisted that it will make you feel like you’ve just been hit in the head with a surfboard.

It couldn’t be different. The titular Surfer is portrayed by Nicolas Cage, who has been enjoying a career revival for the past decade, choosing independent and out-of-the-box projects, and delivering a brilliant performance in each role. As the Surfer, he once again balances on the edge of insanity. At times he is lost, at times he runs amok. There is no way to keep up with him. It is a tremendous pleasure to watch him in this sensational form. Lorcan Finnegan’s film (we screened his excellent “Vivarium” at Splat!FilmFest in 2019) is surprisingly cohesive and well-thought-out, despite the paranoia oozing from every scene. There is a method to this madness.

Nicolas Cage is joined by Julian McMahon (Doctor Doom from the “Fantastic Four”) and Rahel Romahn (“Furiosa: The Mad Max Saga”). “Surfer” had its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, garnered great reviews and is now likely to thrill our Polish audience