Why "Mandy" was Nicolas Cage's best new role

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Bloody thrash thriller showed the real face of one of the most controversial actors

On October 11, the thriller Mandy was released. This is just the second directorial work of the Italian-Canadian Panos Kosmatos. The film has already been shown at major film festivals and even released on Amazon and in the US. And the incredible happened. A cheap trash from a little-known author has caused unprecedented delight from critics and viewers.

But even more surprising is the reason why everyone praises Mandy. Namely - acting by Nicolas Cage. This role has already been called his triumphant return.

Although, strictly speaking, he did not go anywhere. Cage has done a lot of films like Arsenal, The Mirror, and Bureau of Humanity. Few people have heard about them, but the ratings around 10% are indicative: it is difficult to say something good about these paintings with all the desire.

And suddenly, almost everyone liked Cage's game. As it turned out, the secret is simple: the actor doesn't need to be held back.

The story seems completely standard. Eighties, Lumberjack Red (Nicolas Cage) lives with his wife Mandy in a secluded hut. Suddenly Mandy catches the attention of the leader of a local religious cult. He negotiates with the bikers, and they kidnap the woman. And when she refuses to obey, she is burned in front of her wounded husband. He, miraculously survived, obtains weapons and begins to destroy the villains.

It would seem that the viewer is shown an ordinary slasher, of which there are already dozens, if not hundreds, in the world. In addition, one of Cage's most underrated roles is The Wicker Man, in which he similarly had to fight the cult followers.

But all the previous directors were careful, and Kosmatos, on the contrary, twisted to the fullest the brightest features of the classic cheap cinema and Nicolas Cage. The word "too" fits all the components of this picture. Every scene, character or phrase is a cliché, hypertrophied to the point of absurdity.

Even the title is reminiscent of either the graffiti from the eighties, or the inscriptions on the T-shirts of heavy metal fans. Moreover, the titles and animation inserts will appear several times, and the name "Mandy" will be shown only in the final part.

But it is important to understand that the madness that everyone is talking about with delight will begin well beyond the middle of the film. First, you have to go through an incredibly prolonged introduction about the everyday life of a woodcutter with his wife. Then - to get acquainted with the cult and local bikers, and part-time demons.

Moreover, those who love unambiguity and explanations will remain disappointed. The author as if invites everyone to decide for themselves what they are watching: a bloody thriller about crazy people, science fiction with religious overtones, a philosophical parable about rebirth, or just a very strange comedy.

The backstory of the antagonists will not be told either at the beginning or at the end. So you can safely consider them as real messengers of hell, and ordinary maniacs.

But all this is not so important. After all, after the murder of Mandy, her husband turns into the brightest and most grotesque psychopath you can imagine. His behavior is very similar to some of the moments from the 1989 movie "Kiss of the Vampire". Even those who are not familiar with this picture, as if they saw the frame, which became a meme, where Cage unnaturally bulges his eyes and stretches his mouth in a wild smile.

And it seems that many other roles of the actor have failed due to attempts to play with restraint, with subtle intonations. And as a result, his face turned into an emotionless mask with the gaze of a beaten dog.

And it was decided to make the basis of the image of the main character "Mandy" exactly expression. After killing his wife, he drinks vodka, sniffs cocaine and constantly screams. And he doesn't just take a gun or a pistol, but gets a crossbow, forges a huge ax for himself and goes to kill everyone.

Here, the action ignores any logic: Red doesn't even try to contact the police or find any help.

He cuts the scoundrels with an ax, arranges a duel on chainsaws, sets fire to bodies and lights a cigarette from a burning head. His face fills with blood, only those bulging eyes remain, which very soon can be seen in a dozen memes.

And all this is accompanied by ominous music from composer Johan Johansson, periodic acid trips of each character and cutting the eyes with wild colors.

It is not so easy to guess what attracts "Mandy". By any description, this is a secondary cheap slasher. If you disassemble the plot into parts, there are many gaps in it and there is absolutely no logic. Emotions of Cage are beyond replay here, half of the character's phrases can be predicted even before he opens his mouth. But at the same time, there is no feeling of a banal retro thriller or another low-quality work.

Apparently, Panos Kosmatos managed to catch, shoot and convey real madness, making Cage his main instrument and placing him in the wildest surroundings of a drug addict's parish. The story will scare off some with a long start, but it is necessary here to completely immerse yourself in a world where there is no rationality, compassion, and even normal sunlight.

"Mandy" is difficult to recommend watching and even call a good movie. But cinema has not seen such pure adrenaline and frankness for a very long time.