Red Rock West (1993) - Review

Red Rock West is a movie that could never be made again in the 2020s, for better or for worse. The movie stars Nicolas Cage as a drifter, Michael, who has travelled near a rural Wyoming town to interview for work. After a string of setbacks, Michael finds himself in a small-time conspiracy when his identity is mistaken with that of a hired killer (Dennis Hopper) and is tasked with killing the local bar owner’s (J.T. Walsh) wife (Lara Flynn Boyle).

This role of a drifter is one that Nic Cage has inhabited quite often throughout his career (give examples from reviews), and it is a role in which he often succeeds. The backstory can evolve as the story needs it, and anything else can fall away. Michael’s backstory evolves at each of the story beats: he has a disability that prevents him from getting a job, then the injury is explained as he relates to other characters, and there is a lingering tension between doing the right thing and succumbing to easy ways to access security.

Another strength of Red Rock West is its incredibly small cast. The number of people on screen at any time is not only small, but the cast list is also small. Doing a quick check over the credits, the total cast is about twenty people. This not only allows for the small town feel to be conveyed appropriately, but it also allows for the story to breathe through its characters; the characters that are present are given the permission to go beyond just advancing the story and inhabit the world for the short 90 minutes. No one outplays each other, even with veteran actors like Hopper rounding out the cast

As stated above, Red Rock West could not be made again. The chase for box office success has made it so that those which appeal to the broadest audience, something that cannot be said of this movie. That is not to say that it is a bad movie. On the contrary, Red Rock West shines brightly today because it is different than what we have become adjusted to. This movie will remain one of my favorite Nic Cage movies because of how simple it tries to be and succeeds to a great degree.

City of Angels (1996) - Review

City of Angels starts as if it is going to take you along Nic Cage's angelic duties as Seth, trying to heal the citizens of Los Angeles, as he discusses the various things that angels have missed their opportunity of participating due to the duties they have been assigned from the beginning of man with another angel, Cassiel. Cassiel, played by the late Andre Braugher, plays the straight man against Seth's fascinations toward a human surgeon, Maggie, portrayed by Meg Ryan. This fascination towards Maggie is mostly because she does what humans rarely are able to do: catch a glimpse of their angelic presence before their appointed time of death.

Seth's developing romantic interest in Maggie is sad, not because she cannot interact with him - she eventually can at Seth's willing projection - but because he cannot feel anything that his temporary human form can touch. This makes his longing to have human experiences even stronger, especially when he meets a former angel, a Mr. Messinger (Dennis Franz), who explains his life as one that was filled with joy once he settled down  with his now wife, whom he has never told of his former nature.

City of Angels was a fun watch nearly thirty years later; it was a breath of fresh air to sit back and relax for almost two hours without my senses being assaulted by superfluous and rushed plot tensions. The plot tension was evident from the very beginning - Seth's desire to live like the humans do, but reluctant to give up his calling and the associated blessings that accompany it. What follows are the philosophical musings between humans and angels as to which calling is more noble: to usher souls to their final resting place or to exhibit free will and experience the desires of the flesh. I put up with a lot of incredulous contrivances when it comes to fiction, however, this conceit was too much for me. While it is a charming exploration of a sort of spiritual Romeo & Juliet, this rendition romanticizing the union of angels and humans, something that flies in the face of the orthodoxy that I hold to. I didn't want to make it too much a sticking point in my review, however it just warranted a mention because of its importance to me. Otherwise, if that doesn't bother you, City of Angels is well worth the tonal relief that it can give you, a far cry from modern reliance on action.

The Wicker Man (2006) - Review

The Wicker Man (2006) is a remake of the 1973 movie of the same name. The 2006 release stars Nicolas Cage as California policeman Edward Malus, who travels to the fictional Washington state island of Summersisle to investigate the disappearance of his ex-fiancée's (Kate Beahan) daughter. Once he travels to the island, he is met by a predominantly female apicultural pagan society that is extremely hostile toward any outsiders.

This movie has been examined to death since its release because of the long-since memed performance by Cage as a policeman who is outside of his jurisdiction, but also in an environment that does not respect his authority as a concerned individual of someone he used to love deeply. Ever since stepping onto the island, he is embroiled in a larger conspiracy as the inhabitants of the island speak cryptically as to the subject of his investigation and the consequences of his continued involvement on the island. The conspiracy targets Edward at every corner, forcing himself to question everything about himself that has led him to that point. Even before setting foot onto the island, he is plagued by the failure to save a mother and child who were victims of a head-on collision. This loosening of his grip on reality is usually punctuated by seeing visions of the girl, who presumably perished in the wreck and accompanying explosion, being hit by the same semi-truck that struck the car. Those moments would be effective if they did not appear nearly six times throughout the runtime, dulling its poignance and turning it comical towards it final use. Twelve years ago, I sat in my living room with a group of friends working up a chant of "Truck, truck, truck, etc..." until the ghost truck struck the vision of the child. 

The comedic aspects of The Wicker Man do not seem to be intentional, and yet are back-loaded to the climax of the film. Everyone involved with the production or editing should have been aware of what the final product would have looked like or how it would have been perceived. Edward donning a bear suit to arrive incognito to the paganistic May Day celebration and subsequently punching a woman to save a child being sacrificed in the yearly blessing ritual to bring a good honey yield is perceived more comedic than an act of desperation. The infamous "Not the bees!" exclamation is still a source of humor instead of horror, and removes the tension intended to be conveyed in a single moment.

I became curious about the original film years ago and finally sought it out, especially after knowing that there was also a spiritual sequel in 2011 (The Wicker Tree) that was much more faithful to the spirit of the English film. Much like the brand of neo-paganism that the inhabitants of Summersile (2006) brought to their locale, the tone of the film does not translate the same feelings of doom and wonder that Christopher Lee delivered as the leader of his Summerisle. I do not want to discount the effort that the actors and crew put in trying to bring this movie to an American audience, but the reliance of conventional Hollywood story techniques dilutes the impact of the mystery surrounding the island and the society that inhabits it. The Wicker Man failed to understand the mystique of the original film and deserves the ridicule that it invites due to its callous disregard for nuance.