Don't Live Here, Don't Surf Here.
Review written by Jack Aling
The Surfer is directed by Lorcan Finnegan and written by Thomas Martin. Starring Nicolas Cage & Julian McMahon.
When a man returns to his beachside hometown in Australia, many years since building a life for himself in the U.S., he is humiliated in front of his teenage son by a local gang of surfers who claim strict ownership over the secluded beach of his childhood.
The vivid colours of the Australian coast make for the setting of yet another psychedelic adventure with Nicolas Cage as he has a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
Feeling ostracized from a local beach that claims ownership over the area, Cage's obsession to return to his homeland spirals into something else entirely as he fights to prove he belongs.
Set to the dreamlike score from François Tétaz, The Surfer goes to some bold places to tell its extreme story. Though it gets muddled in its final act, Cage's performance helps to ground and carry an ambitious premise.
Our verdict: 3 out of 5 stars.
The Surfer releases in the UK in 2025.
Read more of Jack's reviews at: letterboxd.com/TheJackAling
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