Nicolas Cage is putting the rumble and tumble into surf and turf.
The iconic actor leads psychological thriller “The Surfer,” which centers on a man fighting local surfers in a turf war to reclaim his beachfront home.
Cage stars as an unnamed character who brings his teenage son (Finn Little) to the Australian beach where he was raised. His character is an Australian who moved to California when he himself was a teen after his father was found dead on the same beach. Now, he wants to reestablish his Aussie roots in town — the only issue is that the locals are less than thrilled to welcome him back.
The synopsis reads: “A man returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood to surf with his son. But his desire to hit the waves is thwarted by a group of locals whose mantra is “don’t live here, don’t surf here.” Humiliated and angry, the man is drawn into a conflict that keeps rising in concert with the punishing heat of the summer and pushes him to his breaking point.”
Alexander Bertrand, Julian McMahon, and Nic Cassim also star. Cage, Leonora Darby, James Harris, Robert Connolly, James Grandison, Brunella Coccighlia, and Nathan Klingher produce the feature.
The feature is billed as a psychological thriller-comedy with surreal elements. Lorcan Finnegan directs from a script by Thomas Martin. “The Surfer” premiered in the Midnight section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
The IndieWire review cited the nods to 1970s New Wave Australian cinema, especially with its aesthetic allusions to Peter Weir and George Miller. Additional film comparisons include Ted Kotcheff’s “Wake in Fright” and Nicolas Roeg’s “Walkabout,” both from 1971.
“For any time travellers from the early 2010s who still view Nicolas Cage as a meme resource above all else, there are plentiful wild moments that will no doubt go viral on social media with all traces of their tragic context removed,” the review states. “In one moment of desperation, his character contemplates feasting on a dead rat, before opting to instead store it in his pocket as his lone companion in the limbo of the car park. Despite all the rage, it is still just a rat and Nic Cage.”
Cage will next lead David O. Russell’s ’70s-set biopic “Madden” about NFL legend John Madden. Cage is portraying the titular figure during his tenure as the coach of the Oakland Raiders.
“The Surfer” premieres May 2 in theaters from Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions. Check out the trailer below.
