Lorcan Finnegan's thriller 'The Surfer' bursts into Russian release, whose world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Festival was marked by six-minute applause. And while Nicolas Cage, to the delight of fans, once again rides the wave of psychedelic madness,...

"The Surfer" begins without unnecessary preludes – an intro in the style of 80s TV series blurs with a hot haze at the edges, hinting at the visual style of the film and the plot's features. The main character (Nicolas Cage) returns to Australia to buy his grandfather's house and live the dream life in a place called Moonlight Bay. But his plans, not even to buy the house but just to surf with his son, are disrupted by the local "bay boys" with the laconic rule "Not local – don't surf." Entering into a conflict to defend his rights, the hero gradually begins to go insane.

Irish director Lorcan Finnegan is not new to exploring social issues through genres like horror and thriller, building drama on a psychological component, and "The Surfer" is the quintessence of his previous works.

At first glance, the plot is simple and represents a confrontation between a closed system of people living in one territory and an outsider desperately trying to find his place among the locals. In reality, however, a conflict emerges between a conventionally well-mannered man and representatives of so-called toxic masculinity. But it wouldn't be a Finnegan film if everything were unambiguous, because the method of demonstration resembles the conflict between the heroes of "Fight Club" and the average character of M. Night Shyamalan in the best years of the latter's career.

The gang of surfers, who in everyday life are exemplary family men, acting under the leadership of the local "big shot" Scally (Julian McMahon), represent something like a sect living by the principle of spiritual growth through moral and physical suffering. And Scally's red towel-cape at the beginning of the film seems to threaten warningly – the local ecosystem is harmonious but hostile. And if that's not enough, Finnegan will obligingly intersperse shots of seemingly calm fauna, but represented by spiders, snakes, rats, and other representatives of Australian nature, whose hostility everyone knows about. Even the birds – they chuckle at Cage's hero.

The surfers behave demonstratively immorally, driving the main character crazy, while the "peaceful" locals condone such behavior, citing the preservation of internal peace. And while the viewer resists the imposed thoughts that being a well-mannered outsider is worse than being a deviant local, the director dissects the image of a man and a father through recursion.

It's no coincidence that Shyamalan was mentioned earlier, because the plot twists in a way that the "master of twists" would want, and while Cage's hero transforms from a civilized man into a barefoot rat-eater, the thought increasingly arises that everything happening is looped. Or maybe everything is real, but happening not here and not now? Or maybe Cage's hero is not who we think he is? Or maybe he doesn't exist at all?

Watching what is happening is very difficult due to the unusual cinematography. Close-ups of overgrown faces, twitching hands, dirty feet, and tense looks bring the viewer into the personal space of the characters, creating discomfort and a desire to turn away, step back, keep one's distance. The menacing gaze of Julian McMahon, who has not lost the charm of that same demon from "Charmed," has added to his frightening charisma, masterfully playing the local (the actor is Australian) who drives away the outsider.

Nicolas Cage is experiencing a renaissance in his career and once again delivers a crazy performance. The more his character goes insane, turning from a respectable man in an expensive car into a homeless person drinking dirty water simply because he stubbornly follows the desire to buy his grandfather's house, despite everything, the more the director points out that behind the dream for the common good lies selfish obsession (the son doesn't need the house, and his wife has long been asking for a divorce) and a blind need to escape from a relived tragedy of the past (the death of his father).

And it will emotionally unfold precisely at the moment when discomfort is cranked to the maximum: bare feet will step on glass, basic human needs will be impossible to satisfy, and everything around will drive you crazy. The hero will undergo a kind of rebirth, which will be unambiguously hinted at by numerous biblical references. The very fact that the events take place on Christmas Eve already hints at the further development of the story.

Nikita Margaev

Hero of Our Nightmares: Which Nicolas Cage Horror Movies the Editors of 'After Credits' Love

Cage may not be a regular in horror films, but he is a frequent guest of the genre. We recall his iconic roles — from those that have become cult to those unknown to the general public.

Open material

But what is rebirth in the context of this film? Freedom or loss of self? The film's conflict finds a resolution of catharsis in a rather interesting way, forcing the viewer to step out of the recursion and look at it from the outside, calling into question previously set goals and ideals.

The film is interesting to examine both for references to other works and as a reinterpretation of previously released examples of the genre. "The Surfer" is that cinematic experience that can be enjoyed not only by direct fans of Cage, but by everyone who seeks unusual visual and script solutions in cinema.