THE SURFER

You can expect that things are going to get pretty wild – or should we say WILD AT HEART, to quote the title of his collaboration with the late David Lynch – but give him credit, Nicolas Cage does know how to hold the audience’s attention, a trait that has served him well for over four decades, with films like PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED and RAISING ARIZONA, through his Jerry Bruckheimer collaborations CON AIR and THE ROCK, to his more recent indie offerings.

His latest film, THE SURFER, based on first impressions of the trailer, seems to suggest that you can tell that at one point he is going to snap, but it is just a question of when. However, THE SURFER has a lot more depth than it can get credit for, in a film that has been described as a homage to the Australian ‘New Wave’ of the late 1970s, when the likes of George Miller, Philip Noyce, Fred Schepisi and Peter Weir were paving their own unique path which would lead them to the Hollywood big-wigs and some fine works like WITNESS, A CRY IN THE DARK, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER and DEAD POETS SOCIETY amongst others.

Cage is The Surfer of the title who has returned to Australia after many years away and is planning to buy his childhood home as a present for his son (Finn Little). On his bucket list is a desire to show his son the waves so that he can surf again. Unfortunately, the locals – led by overbearing Scally (Julian McMahon) have a steadfast rule ‘Don’t live here, don’t surf here’, which is enforced any second The Surfer and Son try to get out there. His posse of beachcomber thugs are determined to make their mark, both physically and verbally. As the situation becomes more desperate, in which The Surfer begins to welt in the heat and lose money by hook and crook (mostly the latter), not to mention the sale of that house he desires, the psychological effect begins to take hold…..

Stylistically reminiscent of the likes of MAD MAX and LONG WEEKEND and a mindset like DELIVERANCE, director Lorcan Finnegan creates a potent blend of culture clash and shocks galore in a film that relies on suggestion and suspense. Psychologically, it also reminds one of the original 1973 THE WICKER MAN (a much-maligned remake with Cage didn’t go down too well, but this film more than compensates for that evident career disappointment).

Given my expectations of a Cage film, this was a very pleasant surprise and a film that provokes much reflection and thought in light of the multi-layered context and subtext that the film aims to create in the audience psyche. It’s not an easy watch and there are a few moments throughout that will make you uncomfortable and flinch, a trait that some of those Aussie New Wave efforts were designed to create, but fans will be satisfied and a few converts could be in the mix too.