Nicolas Cage has had a…varied career, hasn’t he? Everyone
enjoys his hilariously over the top action pieces like Con Air, Rock, or
Face/Off, and the hilariously terrible schlockfests like the Wicker Man remake,
or Ghost Rider. There’s the weird ones like Wild at Heart, the interesting ones
like Lord of War…point is, if it’s got Nicolas Cage in it, you’re bound to have
something to talk about at least. And as such, the only real matter is—how does
recently ascending cult horror hit Mandy fit into all of this?
Directed by Panos Cosmatos, Mandy tells the tale of Nicolas
Cage playing what is almost a default role for him—a well-meaning but capable
schmuck, in this case a logger in the forests of early 1980s USA. Living with
his wife, the titular Mandy, (who despite everything isn’t really that
prominent a character all things considered), both find themselves the victims
of a cult lead by a demented Charles Manson type, who is all too fond of
hallucinogens. Brutal deaths, burnings, possible demonic presence, and
ingestions of questionable substances follow—and Cage isn’t taking any of it
lying down.
First of all, Mandy thrives on its visuals. The 80s look is
nailed with just the right touch of film grain and slightly desaturated
lighting—and Cosmatos absolutely loves shots nailed with high-contrast washes
of red, green, or yellow. Many scenes are just bathed in several layers of bright color, usually signifying drugged-out perspectives or just reality seemingly breaking down. It gets gleefully psychedelic, and much of it feels
inspired by comic books of the time, as well as fantasy artwork by the likes of
Frank Frazetta. Indeed, let’s just say that the very medium of the film shifts
on a couple of occasions. There’s a few motifs I felt were similar to other 80s
homages like The Void, but in retrospect were probably coincidence.
As gorgeous as the film is, it’s not exactly a masterwork of
writing—the tone is played fairly straight at first, but then once Cage gets
going, it veers around from goofiness to Evil Dead-style bloody over the top
action. Still, every facet of Cage’s acting is put on play through it all—there’s
genuine moments of despair, to over the top expressions, to him simply going through
the movie hero moments of slicing and dicing people with the arsenal he
accumulates over the film. Sure, at first you might not be completely sure what
the film is going for…but then again, after Cage forces an impressive if
impractical looking battleaxe to personally chop people up, it might not matter
any more. If you want not so much clever twists and turns in the script so much
as bright gore, chainsaw fights, and drug references aplenty, it’ll sure
suffice.
That’s not to say there aren’t some surprises—there’s one
cameo that fans of certain eighties movies will be grinning to, and despite
some of the moments of tonal whiplash, you’ll still be laughing at one in
particularly. Suffice it to say that it was something that though leaving me in
disbelief, still had be wondering if it was a real artifact of the eighties—and
you might know just what I mean after seeing it.
Nevertheless, the final act is somewhat predictable, and
sort of goes through the motions, despite the crazy fights and bloody violence
it offers. Cage really sells things as his character gets ever more unhinged
and crazed, and that alone is fun to watch—but you should keep your
expectations for payoff in check.
Overall, Mandy isn’t an even picture, but it’s not hard to
see why showings have been selling out recently. There’s not much like it out
recently, and for those wanting a psychedelic gory visual treat that heightens
your senses and leaves you feeling as tripped out as some of the characters,
this’ll be something you’ll enjoy. If you want your horror-action tightly
plotted and woven together, you may not feel completely satisfied. Take that
for what it is, and if you like the sound of it, get your Cage on.
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