The Surfer: Film Review
I didn’t know where I’d stand with Lorcan Finnegan‘s new movie The Surfer because his previous films Vivarium and Nocebo were a hit and a miss with me. But one thing I could be certain of: It was gonna be weird!
This Australia-set psychological thriller stars Nicolas Cage as The Surfer, who takes his son (Finn Little) to Luna Bay, where he grew up, because he’s about to buy his family’s old home. They plan to surf at the bay but discover that it’s now “locals only” and the beach is aggressively defended by a surfer gang-slash-cult led by Scally (Julian McMahon). After taking his son home, The Surfer returns to the bay and refuses to leave until he’s allowed to surf – and the local bullies respond by terrorising him.
The majority of the movie takes place in the bay’s car park, which is a very unusual setting for a film! The Bay Boys begin their torment by stealing The Surfer’s surfboard and removing his access to clean drinking water – and that’s just the start of it. Things get worse and worse for Cage’s character, who ends up with no shoes, phone, money or food and starts to look like a desperate and deranged homeless person. With the sun beating down on him and dehydration, starvation and exhaustion coming into play, The Surfer begins his descent into insanity. He thinks he’s going crazy and turning into the Bum (Nic Cassim) – but what is really going on?
The Surfer is surreal and trippy and an unpleasant experience. His torment is monotonous and repetitive and I didn’t enjoy watching this person being put through hell. He makes so many stupid decisions too, like taking off his shoes. Obviously they’re gonna get stolen! I know he’s standing up for his principles and his right to surf on a public beach but there comes a time when it’s not worth the suffering and you’ve got to give up and go home. Simple solution!
Cage fans will be pleased to know that he pulls plenty of his classic faces and is involved in some meme-worthy scenes. He leans into the wild nature of this film as only he can. I cannot fault his performance at all because he’s doing the best with what’s been asked of him.
There are some amusing moments here and there – and a stand-out hilarious one – but I generally found The Surfer to be an unenjoyable experience.
In cinemas from Friday 9th May