HORROR TEN SPOT: Nicolas Cage’s Boldest Performances (Part 1)

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Since recently relinquishing his status as one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars, Nicolas Cage has been the butt of many jokes. A lot of them he no doubt brought on himself, through onscreen performance, but in the last 5 years or so it’s gotten pretty excessive. Hell, I know here at AITH, we can’t pen an article about the man without throwing a jab at his impressive wig collection. And impressive it is. However, with Cage set to burn all kinds of rubber in Patrick Lussier’s DRIVE ANGRY 3D (in theaters Friday), we thought we’d go the other way and, instead of taking easily landed cheap shots at the man’s acting chops, actually honor Cage’s most bold career choices. Now, bold is an expansive word…so let it be known we’re not necessarily talking about the best performances, worst performances, most memorable performances. While those things aren’t inherently excluded, we’re more interested in some of the risks the dude has undergone during his 3-decade stint in showbiz. Let’s take a look!

MINOR TO MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW!

#10. RAISING ARIZONA (1987) 

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“Son, you got a panty on your head!” Outside of mastering the crackling hayseed dialogue crafted by Joel and Ethan Coen in the 1987 screwball comedy RAISING ARIZONA, there isn’t a whole lot of Nic Cage’s performance you can attribute as bold. At least, that’s what I thought at first. But consider how many out-and-out comedies Cage has done, then consider how many he’s done well. The number is threadbare. When you factor in how Cage had only done 7 or 8 movies prior to this, mostly in supporting roles and bit parts, it becomes clear how impressive his work in RAISING ARIZONA is. Playing a trailer-park rube and inveterate stick-up man, Cage does a good job of portraying the mannerisms of a redneck simpleton, but somehow balances it with the florid period language the Coens give him to speak. Of course, his interplay with Tex Cobb’s ruthless bounty hunter, John Goodman and William Forsythe’s idiot brothers and Holly Hunter’s domineering wifey makes for inherent comedy.

#9. THE WEATHER MAN (2005)

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Going off the beaten path a little, I thought it’d be cool to show some love to one of Cage’s more understated, anti-heroic roles. In Gore Verbinski’s 2005 film THE WEATHER MAN, Cage pretty much plays against type as a beleaguered weather man going through the motions. It’s not a flashy performance, it’s not over the top as Cage can do effortlessly, it’s an honest look into a real character, one with far more problems and setbacks than triumphs. He suffers a disconnect with his divorced wife and children, lives in the constant shadow of his father’s ever growing disappointment. You see, his father (Michael Caine) is a former Pulitzer Prize winner and no matter what Cage does, he can’t measure up. This, along with his unfulfilling vocation and familial strain, leads to a deep malaise in the man’s spirit. Look, this isn’t a touchy feely film, it’s a tough one. But it’s one we can all relate to. We can all identify with feelings of inadequacy, of spiritual bankruptcy. Kudos to Cage for choosing to do this film at the height of his box-office superiority.

#8. VAMPIRE’S KISS (1988)

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Nic Cage as bloodsucker? Bold! Rarely again finding himself in the realm of comedy, Nic Cage shines as a publisher-cum-vampire in Robert Bierman’s 1988 genre mash-up VAMPIRE’S KISS. Alright, alright…sinking your teeth in Maria Concheta Alonso and Jennifer Beals isn’t that tough a task, but how could we not cast some love on one of Cage’s few legitimate genre efforts? Sure, that indeterminable accent Cage spews comes and goes like a westerly wind, but apparently that was scripted (he wants to sound elegant to some, apparently). Even bolder? Cage ate a real cockroach in the film, a feat that took three takes to achieve. “Every muscle in my body didn’t want to do it, but I did it anyway.” Now that’s dedication to the craft ladies and gentlemen! Truth be told, it’s been awhile since seeing the film, so I can’t tell you how well it’s held up over the past two decades, but it is interesting to consider how the film would have turned out if Judd Nelson, who was considered, landed the role that went to Cage.

#7. THE WICKER MAN (2006)

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Come on, you knew this bastard was coming. In one of the most calamitous film debacles ever conceived, Nic Cage gives us his best/worst performance in an equally fetid movie from director Neil LaBute. The fact that THE WICKER MAN sullies its namesake, essentially bastardizing Robin Hardy’s 1973 masterwork, makes it all the more difficult to swallow. However, the entertainment value on this sucker is off the charts. In case you missed the set-up, Cage plays a sheriff tasked with finding a missing girl. When he sets out for the island community of Summersisle, an inexplicable stretch of odd happenings, shady encounters, and downright stupefying dialogue ensues. Cage pops more pills than Mike Jackson, sweatily pedals a bicycle around the island looking for clues, all the while tormented by eerie visions and twisted dreamscapes, often marked by fractured black and white sequences. My favorite though, the stint where Cage sprints through a hive-field, a giant breeding ground for bees. Oh those honey draughts!

#6. BRINGING OUT THE DEAD (1999) 

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I’m not sure about you guys, but I really like Scorsese’s BRINGING OUT THE DEAD. I dig it’s soundtrack, it’s morbid sense of humor, I dig the way film looks and feels, and I sure as hell love the cast, headlined by our man, Mr. Cage. In what maybe Marty’s closest thing to a horror flick (SHUTTER ISLAND, CAPE FEAR), he gives Cage a role of great torment, a man so affected by the horrors of Hell’s Kitchen’s underbelly, he spirals into an hallucinogenic torpor. As you know, Nic plays a haunted paramedic, racked with great lassitude and insomnia-induced episodes of guilt. He can’t reconcile those lives he couldn’t save, and in this 3-day snapshot of his frenzied life, we sense the man is nearing the end of his sanity. At times underplayed, at times overplayed, Nic’s work here works well the manic direction Marty is giving, the pace he’s dictating. Props to the support from my girl Patty Arquette, as well as Tom Sizemore, John Goodman and Ving Rhames. The interplay between them and Cage is pretty f*ckin brilliant at times.

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2!