The Golden Age of Mr. Cage
Whether you hate him or love him, everyone knows Nicolas Cage. This is partly due to his inability to stop working, meaning he usually has about four films coming out each year. He’s also increasingly known for the countless number of internet memes and videos devoted to him – the most popular being: ‘Nicolas Cage Losing His Shit’ and ‘The Evolution of Nicolas Cage’s Hair’. Both videos play brilliantly to the intense tunes of ‘Lux Aeterna’ and ‘In The Hall of The Mountain King’ respectively. It’s safe to say that he has enjoyed a fair amount of parody in the last few years and yes, it’s hard to see this as undeserved after watching films like The Wicker Man and Ghost Rider – though don’t be fooled, he knows about this and is definitely in on the joke. However, amongst the truckload of mediocre films Cage has chosen to ham it up in, it’s easy to forget that in a career lasting more than 30 years he has created many compelling characters in quality films.
Perhaps the biggest criticism thrown at Nicolas Cage is his tendency to overact. But his scene-chewing eccentricity is also his greatest strength and films that embrace and use his unique abilities in the right way are often brilliant. Take the Coen Brothers’ hilariously offbeat and absurd comedy Raising Arizona. Cage’s brand of acting is perfect for oddball comedies and he is fantastic in the film as ex-convict Herbert, a man who wants nothing more than to see his wife happy raising a baby (that he stole). Another example of a film that uses Cage in just the correct way is Spike Jonze’s Adaptation where he plays Donald and Charlie Kauffman, a pair of identical twins. Donald is carefree and optimistic whilst Charlie is neurotic and obsessive allowing Cage to display great range in a quirky and off-centre role. What these roles and his method of acting show above all else is a certain fearlessness as an actor. So many people are content with playing the ‘straight’ guy or slight spins on that, whilst Cage will take an unusual role and go the full way with it.
This is not to say that eccentricity is his only quality. Hidden in the depths of his larger-than-life performances, Cage can on occasion show surprising amounts of subtlety. Take Werner Herzog’s The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. Playing a corrupt, crack headed cop might sound like classic Cage but he is able to make him oddly sympathetic even when threatening to kill two innocent women. There is an inner pain to his frantic outbursts that is hard to find anywhere else. Similarly, David Gordon Green’s Joe which recently played the festival circuit and is due out in Britain later this year has drawn praise for being one of Cage’s most subtle, restrained and complex performances in years.
Renowned film critic Roger Ebert once commented that when we think of the greatest living male actors Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson come to mind, but we should also take note of Nicolas Cage. Whilst I wouldn’t go as far as to group him with these actors it’s hard to argue agaisnt the fact that Cage is one of the most daring and unafraid actors out there and deserves more recognition than all the internet parody and terrible thrillers would have people think.
Let us not forgot, the man has an Academy Award, which he received for his extremely harrowing portrayal of an alcoholic spending his last days drinking himself to death in Leaving Las Vegas. Amongst the usual number of action thrillers Cage has signed up to, he has some interesting projects coming up, which will hopefully showcase his talents. As well as the aforementioned Joe, Cage is attached to reunite with his Adaptation writer Charlie Kauffman for Frank or Francis, a Hollywood satire that will hopefully carve another bizarre but beautiful performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP1-oquwoL8
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