The Surfer (2024) Film Review: Nicolas Cage is put through the ringer in surreal psychological thriller

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The Cage renaissance continues!

When a man returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood to surf with his teenage son, he is humiliated and tormented by a group of locals, whose actions push him to his breaking point.

The movie had its world premiere in the Midnight Screenings section at last year's Cannes Film Festival. It was an Irish/Australian co-production between director Lorcan Finnegan and writer Thomas Martin. A completely unique cinematic experience, this unconventional film features the strange, offbeat narrative choices that can be expected from producer and star Nicolas Cage's projects.

The whole aesthetic of the movie and its marketing is gorgeous, evoking an authentic retro feel with its warm colour palette, shooting location, and classic typography used on the poster. A sun-drenched Australian coastline is contrasted with heavily saturated neon lights at night, and beautiful aerial wave shots provide some enchanting scene transitions. A nostalgia-fueled score by composer François Tétaz combines elements of mysticism, which is central to the locals' enigmatic cult-like tendencies, and the terror that they unleash on the titular surfer.

A man (Cage) is pushed to his breaking point whilst dealing with a gang of threatening locals

Distorted camera shots and wide-angle lenses contribute to a steadily growing aura of madness. The film does have an experimental quality to it, almost feeling like a fever dream with its immersive cinematography and trippy, psychedelic sequences as Cage stubbornly refuses to leave the beach and succumbs to hunger and thirst as he attempts to gain the upper hand over the hostile locals. Plenty of hazy hallucinations and nonsensical plotting will certainly be a turn off for plenty, and the slow burn nature of the film does result in it losing its footing a little during the middle half, however, a fittingly satisfying climax does make up for this.

It is certainly fascinating to watch your everyday sensible businessman archetype succumb to existential dread and fear, with a fully committed sweat sweat-soaked, barefoot, and all-around ragged Cage at his finest. The dangers of toxic masculinity are at the centre of the film's story, with an older man being humiliated and degraded by headstrong lads with violent impulses. There are elements of dark comedy to be found in the unhinged, questionable nature of our lead, who is determined to stand his ground despite numerous warnings from everyone around him. There is plenty to unpack regarding different interpretations of the movie's presentation and what it all means, with the relationship between fathers and sons and spiritualism being other interesting factors at play.

All in all, The Surfer offers an original, bonkers silver screen experience which proudly wears its boldness and difference on its sleeve and takes full advantage of the dynamic talent of its lead. This film will definitely not be for everyone due to its non-traditional pacing and bizarre content, however, Nicolas Cage fans should find a lot to admire here, and the movie undeniably looks incredible.

Check out the trailer for The Surfer (2024) below and let me know your thoughts in the comments!