
THE SURFER
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Julian McMahon, Nic Cassim, and Finn Little
Director: Lorcan Finnegan

QUENTIN

Few people can portray a man’s slow descent into madness better than Nic Cage, and director Lorcan Finnegan seemingly knows this. He’s content to simply allow Cage to do his thing and go wild as a mild-mannered, white-collar yuppie suffering a maniacal and hallucinatory psychotic break in the face of toxic masculinity, framing it all in a sun-soaked, 70s exploitation aesthetic that radiates off the screen. I mean, you can almost feel the heat and sweaty grime of the Australian beach with every suspenseful revelation that drives Cage’s character further and further into the spiral. The Surfer has B-movie, grindhouse cult classic written all over it.

KATIE

Only Nic Cage could bring the unhinged energy needed for The Surfer to work. Cage dials it up to 100, ranging from frustration to maniacal anger to desperate sadness and psychological turmoil. His thrilling performance alongside the tragicomedy is heightened by the tangibly sweltering heat and quickly rising tensions, captured with vibrant, deeply saturated colour and surreal visual effects that enhance the ambiguity of Cage’s character’s reality. The rest of the cast is also fantastic, convincingly carrying the film’s themes of toxic masculinity and dominance. The Surfer is destined to be a cult hit and a favourite amongst Cage fans.
This film was reviewed by Quentin and Katie as part of Bitesize Breakdown's coverage of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and 2024 BFI London Film Festival, respectively.