Sympathy for the Devil (Frightfest 2023) Nicolas Cage finds a new vehicle for his insanity (Review)

Every fresh Nicolas Cage film comes with a rare weight of expectation, and 2022 saw that come to a head with a film whose title and content seemed to embody that thought. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent – where the image of Nicolas Cage embraced its own meme – crystalised him as one of the world’s most overtly adventurous and experimental movie stars. His wildly inconsistent career has seen him win an Oscar, come dangerously close to winning six Razzies, and also had him work in every genre as a romantic lead, zany comedy schmuck, action star, scream queen and, recently, horror’s most iconic villain. He’s been in danger of hitting a winning streak of late, with Mandy and Pig in particular showing his range within some subversively brave choices of screenplay. Frightfest’s UK premiere of his new thriller, Sympathy for the Devil, comes with the anticipation that Cage (now nearly 60 and just as prolific as ever), has no intention of slowing or calming down. At the very least a lean, 90-minute, restricted location thriller in his hands means fans can be sure to strap in for a good time.

It’s easy to see why Cage was attracted to this project, given that he plays a deliciously reprehensible thorn in the side of a plaid-wearing, bespectacled family man who is forced to drive into the Las Vegas desert at gunpoint. The major malfunction in this hitchhiking nightmare is that David (Joel Kinnaman, who gives the role a surprising amount of heft), was just about to visit his long-suffering wife in the hospital as she is currently in labour with their second child. Already plagued by a series of miscarriages and a history of hard living, David’s odyssey is made ten times worse by Cage’s mysterious and sadistic passenger, whose livewire acts of violence come from a pitch-black place of the human soul.

To bill this as Collateral, but with a Cruise swapped for a Cage isn’t too far from the truth. While the former is the world’s biggest movie star who’s able to command the screen with charisma and menace, the latter fills the screen entirely, and there’s often the sense that Cage is chewing so much scenery that he might literally bite his co-star’s head off. Appropriately, Kinnaman looks perpetually terrified and fills his side of the screen with just as much silent dread as Cage populates his with hot air.

With monologue after monologue, Cage turns in one of his loopiest performances in years, hitting some very strange beats involving an imaginary childhood monster called Mr. Mucus, and an extended, hip-thrusting sing-along to Alicia Bridges’ “I Love The Night”. Sporting a shock of crimson-red hair (which easily puts itself forward as one of the man’s most barmy barnets), dressed in a gloriously tacky blazer and rocking a pistol inscribed with a Chinese proverb, this feels like Cage’s Joker performance – a malevolent, manic and maniacal source of endless antagonism, and a genuine bully to boot.  

However, some more recent performances have proven that the best Cage films overall have him working in perfect lockstep with the material. Bringing his rage levels down to a simmer for Pig, and cranking them up to a boiling point as an emblem of heavy metal death for Mandy – both performances feel right and appropriate for each director’s vision and weave Cage’s regular volatile force into the film’s wider tapestry. Sympathy for the Devil is a film that, unfortunately, peaks too hard whenever Cage is let out of his … cage, with the third act in particular piling on plot and exposition in an attempt to make the film more than just a frivolous genre exercise.

Without veering too far into spoiler territory it’s entirely possible to say this film is a loose, lower-budget remake of a 2005 thriller with a very similar series of reveals, but things get less interesting and intense when ideas about guilt, revenge and the scars of the past are laid on the table. Director Yuval Adler is a growing talent who demonstrates a tighter, more propulsive style here than in his other films, and shows a marked improvement from the disappointing, Diane Kruger-led Mossad thriller The Operative. He manages to keep the thrills chugging along with limited resources, but sadly Cage is simply too much for the film to handle come its rough-and-ready finale. 

Kinnaman should be commended for his unexpectedly stressed-out turn that feels far more in keeping with Luke Paradise’s stripped-back script and Adler’s straightforward craftsmanship. The fact that he manages to make a strong impression against Cage’s deranged supernova is a nice bonus for this perfectly enjoyable popcorn thriller. Creators of Cage memes and rage compilations will find plenty of ammunition here, and although there are some general imbalances between star and material, Sympathy for the Devil is a solid addition to Cage’s low-budget period and an indulgent showcase for the big man at his craziest.

Simon’s Archive – Sympathy for the Devil