Nicolas Cage has gone from being a character actor to being an Oscar winner to being an action star to being a campy joke to finding a way to merge them all into his persona and roles and this might be my favourite Nic Cage of all. In 2023 he played Dracula in an inspired, campy, and complicated performance and now he's playing.. well that's for you to see, in a film that takes full advantage of all his skills as an actor and gives a ride that is both a whole lot of fun and thought provoking at the same time.
Paradise's script is just the right balance of character examination, suspense, and crime thriller. Director Adler handles the specific challenges of the story quite well. Much of the story happens in a car with two men talking - not an easy thing to film effectively - but Adler runs with it well. And when he gets a chance for a set piece, he finds a very cinematic way of bringing to life. And the film is a little game of bait and switch, subverting very specific expectations, in a way that I appreciated.
But what really makes it all work is the charisma and interplay between Kinnaman's stoic everymanness and Cage's complex balance of, well all things Cage. It is a winning formula with a story and script just sharp enough to give them the weight they need and Alder's stylish means of pulling it all together. Sympathy for the Devil turns out to be a nice treat that delivers on its premise and promise and perhaps surprises a bit too.
Sympathy for the Devil
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Joel Kinnaman
Director: Yuval Adler
Writer: Luke Paradise
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