This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
The Sufferer
Plot Overview
A surfer started
life in a house overlooking Luna Bay in Australia. He had good
surfing with his old man who for work reasons had to move w/his
family to California. As a beach bum for two years he surfed all
the major beaches of the world. When he met the love of his life,
he married her and promised one day to live with her in that house
on Cliff View Drive. She was less committed than he and as the movie opens
they are getting divorced and she's living with another man.
It's
Christmas down under. The house has come on the market and our
surfer (Nicolas Cage) who is part of the corporate world now has
locked in his bid. He's taking his kid (Finn Little) on a surprise
surfing excursion there for which he took a personal day off from
work and he took his kid out of school for a day. That doesn't go
over big with his old lady, he gets bad news from the real estate
broker that there's another potential buyer, and some locals
partying down on the beach have heavy-handedly expelled him from
“their” waters.
When
he won't leave the rest area forthwith, they assault him and
steal his board. The police are of little help. These locals beat
up a couple unwary French tourists. This isn't America and
Australia's universal gun ban has resulted in a most impolite
society. A man hanging around looking for his missing son has his
dog killed for his trouble. Our surfer gets fleeced bit by bit
until he's looking like a bum, shunned by passersby. His sorry lot
is reminiscent of J.G. Farrell's Troubles:
He went on to
say something confused about things not being the way they used to
be … or perhaps people weren't the way they used to be, one
or the other, or perhaps both, it was hard to make out precisely.
‘This is no place for the likes of you,’ the doctor was saying.
‘You must leave Ireland, leave Kilnalough, it's no place at all now
for a British gentleman like you. Clear yourself out of here, bag and
baggage, before it's too late!’ (238–9)
Ideology
Here is begun a gang conflict à la, (Proverbs 30:33) “Surely the
churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the
nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth
strife.” The idea in the proverb is that a state of peace and conciliation
can change to one of war just as a liquid (milk) can change to
solid (butter) through constant agitation (churning.) Or hit a
critical area (nose) and it bleeds. This principle is illustrated
in the first instance by a description of a distant storm
transferring energy to the ocean, traveling unimpeded for
miles and miles, then striking an obstacle transforming it into a
standing wave washing onto shore. Likewise, the protracted ragging of
the mellow father eventually gets a rise out of him.
The second instance is illustrated by a punctured tire of a bum's junker bleeding air. His only friend is his dog who doesn't care a whit that he's poor. Kill the dog and one strikes a nerve.
Production Values
“” (2024) was directed by Lorcan Finnegan. It was written by Thomas Martin. It stars Nicolas Cage, Finn Little and Rahel Romahn. Cage aided by some good closeups did a fantastic job of conveying a fast decline into penury. He's the bum who invites taunts, “Get a job!” from people who don't know the derelict's story. The support cast played their parts to a tee.
MPA rated it R for language, suicide, some violence, drug content and sexual material. The production put the plot square in the twilight zone. Runtime is 1 hour 40 minutes.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
The denizens of the lunatick beach were emasculated males who'd found no he-man outlet in sports or hunting, let alone in an affirming occupation, so they turned to sex & violence. They strayed outside the lines.
This is a tense psychological thriller that exceeds the comfort bounds of civil society. Not for the faint of heart.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Well done action flick. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Well done special effects. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: Don't watch this movie alone. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture is taken from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.
Farrell, J.G. Troubles. © 1970 by J.G. Farrell. London: Jonathan Cape, 1970, 1983. Print.
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