Nicolas Cage's Religious Horror Movie Is Less Extreme as It Sounds
Nicolas Cage could be the ideal choice for a audacious scary movie centered on Jesus Christ, but not for the motivations some fans might assume. Actually, Cage doesn't actually play the central religious figure in the new film: his role is referred to simply as The Carpenter. Cage is framed as the Joseph in this narrative, striving to maintain his faith as his son (acted by the young actor), their teenage foster child, begins to display supernatural abilities. Why it's hard to imagine another leading star in this role is that although the figure grows burdened with multiple trials, Cage himself looks almost touchingly convinced that this gloomy, somber feature is a valuable project.
The Actor's Latest Film Selections
Cage has been using his time more selectively in recent years. He continues to makes more films than the majority of average viewers will ever see — for example, are you aware that he has completed a trio of distinct Westerns recently? — yet he also adds high-profile independent films such as Dream Scenario, Pig, and a further title. The Carpenter’s Son appears to be one of those, in that it’s not strictly scary, possibly controversial, and handles a campy-sounding premise quite seriously.
The Film's Plot and Direction
Unfortunately, writer-director the director does not reward viewer engagement. The Carpenter’s Son begins with a compellingly nomadic setting, marketed as inspired by an obscure religious text regarding Christ’s childhood. Cage's character, the maternal figure, and the boy relocate frequently, afraid of doctrinal intolerance or doubt about their son's strange powers. “Disaster trails us,” The Carpenter gloomily remarks. This persists when sinister entities attack the household where they currently live, getting a jump-start on the familiar Biblical temptation for the youth.
Occasionally, the film resembles an Exorcist-style supernatural thriller, except that no one of the main figures are directly possessed. On the contrary, they become progressively isolated from each other, when these entities affect a local young woman (the actress, listed as an outsider) that the son bonds with, and provides each character troubling visions of a dark tomorrow. The Carpenter notably grapples with his position in this story, sometimes scolding the son who mystifies him.
Controversy and Sensitivity
The content is prone to court controversy, and the director treats it with plenty of delicacy — too much, perhaps. The concept of a young man dealing with his eventual sacrifice and lured by unknown powers is certainly terrifying, but the filmmaker could be hesitant regarding appearing sensational and anxious to telegraph his aims, thus he frequently withdraws to dimly foreboding filming. The figures constantly ponder — the singer-actress, who showed real promise in another movie, surprisingly — cedes her role to her Mother Mary cloak, occasionally interrupted by some disturbing frightening scenes.
The Star's Performance and Film's Weaknesses
At the same time, the actor flirts with precisely the type of exaggerated performance that his ironic fans could be expecting. One scene (also included) in previews in which Cage loses control and shouts “My belief is broken!” If that kind of dramatic explosion is included in a biblical thriller, maybe a more brazenly silly style would take better advantage of the actor's readiness to go over the top if needed. Instead, The Carpenter’s Son is closer to the poorer low-budget movies he starred in during that period — not the cheesy thrillers instead the serious stories and supernatural thrillers that always sound promising, and often contain some select Cage moments, but in the end seem like, indeed, inexpensive direct-to-consumer content.
Frankly, several of these, though not as grand, were more watchable in general. At this point I must violate my personal rule, not faith-based but career-related: Previously, a beloved editor urged me to remove adjectives like “monotonous” or “lifeless” from my film-criticism vocabulary. These words express scant but a individual and vaguely expressed lack of patience, disengaging from the duty of vibrantly communicating the thoughtful and emotional experience of viewing a particular movie. It's hard to convey monotony without sounding boring oneself. It's just as unclear as terming a movie “engaging.” “Elaborate,” that is.
But I must confess, I felt uninterested during much of the film. To the movie’s non-exploitative credit, it is a churchy kind of stultification, not due to this movie is lecturing, but as it takes a kind of patient acceptance to sit through it. After a while early on, the film settles into a monotonous pattern of simmering anguish, and fails to
