The Surfer
MADMAN FILMS
Back when Dream Scenario was coming out in 2023, Nicolas Cage announced that he was eyeing retirement from movies. “I feel that I’ve, at this point – after 45 years of doing this; that in over 100 movies – I feel I’ve pretty much said what I’ve had to say with cinema. And I’d like to leave on a high note and say, ‘Adios,'” he told Variety. The day he decides to abandon the silver screen in favor of the small one (god forbid a 10-episode prestige show dumped on streaming) will be a sad day indeed, because even at 61 years old he still manages to enthrall and surprise in weird films portraying challenging characters.
Enter The Surfer. Despite premiering at Cannes in May 2024 and still circulating the festival circuits, it is surprising that no real distribution plans have been set for this Australian-set, Christmas-themed nightmarish trip, especially considering the actor’s success with his performance in Osgood Perkins’s Longlegs. Directed by Lorcan Finnegan, The Surfer follows Cage as the nameless title character: after a successful life in the States, he moves back to Australia with his family with the dream of owning his childhood home, overlooking a gorgeous beach. Unfortunately, local surfers do not allow any outsiders from the area to surf and enjoy the sea, humiliating The Surfer in front of his son. Instead of leaving, he decides to stay there, living in the parking lot, trying to get access to what he considers to be rightfully his.
The Surfer follows in the great tradition of Outback thrillers like The Last Wave, Wake in Fright, and the more recent The Royal Hotel, with a hefty dose of dark humor to boot. From the seductive way that the ocean is framed and the hazy, scorching heat creating waves around Cage and the parking lot, to the sweeping orchestral score harkening back to classic cinema, this is a fairy tale through and through: everything is heightened and nothing is to be taken literally.
Finnegan is becoming an interesting voice in genre filmmaking, going full tilt with horrific or amusing premises to explore societal issues. In the case of The Surfer, he is primarily tackling class differences in a capitalist world. Where does true value come from? Can someone like The Surfer, who is unwanted by the Australian locals, treated like a dog and homeless person, ever truly change to their eyes? What are the sacrifices that one must make to reach this acceptance? According to the film but also to the dark realities of the world we live in, one has to sell their soul to the devil and become that which they despise if they want to fit in and get a taste of the good life.
While this may sound preachy or overly didactic, The Surfer is anything but that. As the star of the film, Nic Cage gets to embrace his expressionist side by portraying a man slowly driven to insanity by the world around him: misunderstood, hated, and belittled at every turn, he grins and shouts his way throughout the movie, his longing to relive his childhood memories on this fantastical beach being both poignant and hilarious. The surrounding cast of Australian newcomers and veterans is perfectly aligned with his performance, with everyone portraying grotesque caricatures of a xenophobic community.
The only narrative element that truly brings The Surfer down is its repetition: despite being less than 100 minutes long, the repetitive cycle of following the protagonist being laughed at and kicked down by young surfers gets tiring on a visceral level. Whether that was intentional to make viewers feel the pain of the character (which, as they say in the film, is necessary in order to obtain true happiness), it still makes for an exhausting middle portion. Thankfully, the climax goes fully into surreal territory, diving deeper into concepts of toxic masculinity and of finding a safe place to let off steam and anger, which more than makes up for some of the script’s and direction’s indulgences into insanity and non-linear editing. Cage fans will eat this up, while those looking for a more subtle or disturbing kind of thriller are likely to be left wanting more.