Nicholas Cage has gotten a reputation of being a wild man on screen these days. He’s taken a lot of recent roles that support that theory. Early on in his car, er he was a sympathetic lover, then he entered into the action phase of his career and eventually the leading man phase. Now he’s just crazy all the time in his movies. In The Surfer, he is no different.  It starts out as a regular straightforward drama and eventually unravels into something completely different. There is a message in there if you pay attention closely.

The Surfer (Nicholas Cage) as he’s referred to in the film decides to take his son referred to as The Kid (Finn Little) to his old surfing spot on the beach where he grew up adjacent to in Australia. When he and his son are bullied by locals saying, “You Don’t Live Here, You Don’t Surf Here,” it puts him over the edge. He tries everything to surf the ocean of his childhood , but nothing seems to work. He even pleads his case to the leader of the surfer gang, preventing him from surfing there Scally (Julien McMahon) with no luck. He eventually unravels into a mess of a human being.

The gang that lives and surfs the ocean adjacent to this beach in Australia is a real gang. They feel this is their home, and unless you’ve earned your spot in their group with the brand of the group on your arm and have gone through the initiation process, then you’re not welcome there. The film takes this theory a little too far from my perspective. I can see people being protective of their land and so forth, but these men go too far in messing with this man, who, in fact, grew up near this beach/ ocean. I’m not a fan of bullying of any kind, no matter what the circumstances are. I’m all for representing one’s community and so forth, but not like it was portrayed in this movie.

There are some redeeming qualities to this film, though. One of them is cinematography.  The look, which is a bit acid washed, shows the ocean, beach, and landscapes in a beautiful way. While watching the movie, I was dying to go there because it looked so beautiful. Radek Ladczuk captured the blue sky and made it bluer. He showed the ocean from above, and it seemed to come alive. Even an area where cars parked became a visual aesthetic to this film.  The cinematography is the best part of The Surfer.

With the whole persona Cage has gotten in recent years with roles in The Color Out Of Space, Mandy, Longlegs, and so many others he has been reverted to the guy all of us want to see go crazy in one form or another. Here, he gradually loses his mind from the hot sun, lack of water and food, and the scenario he’s put himself in. His own mind starts to play tricks on him. In a sleight of hand trick, the director Lorcan Finnegan and the writer Thomas Martin make the audience watching seem to go crazy with Cage in this film. That’s the ultimate slap in the face.  It works, though, just like it does in so many other films like The Game and so forth. Cage is perfectly cast in this sort of role. He gives another stellar performance as well.

The Surfer isn’t a straightforward, forward drama film or father son story. It’s a movie about acceptance and being part of something greater. Also, earning your place in a specific society of group dynamic. We’ve all struggled to find our place in society. Where we belong isn’t always an easy thing to find.  Even when we know what we want is at our fingertips, it’s not always that easy to grasp. This film is the perfect example of that even though it’s done in such an odd way. I’ve felt this way my whole life, and I just had to keep working and scratching and clawing my way forward. Sometimes, the way forward isn’t straight. It’s a side movement, and eventually, you can go forward again.  The message in this movie is a good one, even though it took a circuitous route to get there.

The Surfer once again has a solid performance from Cage in a role where he goes a bit crazy. The gorgeous cinematography accentuates the Australian coastline perfectly.  I want to drop everything and go to this play right now. That’s how perfect this place looks and feels to me. I envy all who live around this area and get to experience this on a daily basis. The message of belonging somewhere and trying to be accepted into a specific group or society is the strength of the film. It’s hard to see amidst all the craziness and bullying , but it’s there. I explore everyone to seek this film out. No matter how it seems from the outside looking in.

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen