🔗 Share this article

Nicolas Cage could be the ideal selection for a audacious scary movie focused on Jesus Christ, however not for the reasons some audiences could guess. Truthfully, Cage doesn't actually portray the central religious figure in The Carpenter’s Son: his role is listed only as a craftsman. The actor is framed as a father figure in this story, attempting to maintain his beliefs while the teenage character (played by the young actor), their now-teenage adopted son, starts to show miraculous gifts. The explanation it's challenging to imagine a different major actor playing this part is that while the role is burdened with multiple trials, the actor appears almost emotionally certain that this gloomy, grim small film is worth his time.

The Actor's Recent Film Selections

Nicolas Cage has allocating his time more carefully in recent years. He yet makes more movies than most casual fans will ever see — for example, were you informed that the actor has made three distinct Westerns recently? — yet he also includes high-profile independent films such as Dream Scenario, Pig, and a further title. This new film appears to be one of those, as it’s genre-adjacent, likely to stir debate, and approaches a campy-sounding concept quite seriously.

The Film's Plot and Handling

Sadly, filmmaker Lotfy Nathan does not reward the audience's focus. The film begins with a interestingly wandering setting, positioned as drawing from an apocryphal lost gospel regarding the youthful days of the messiah. The Carpenter, the maternal figure, and the boy move constantly, fearful of doctrinal intolerance or doubt over The Boy’s unusual abilities. “Trouble pursues us,” Cage mournfully notes. It goes on as evil influences focus on the household where they currently live, beginning on that traditional religious challenge for the son.

At times, the film echoes an demonic possession-type possession movie, except that no one of the main figures are directly possessed. On the contrary, they are increasingly alienated from each other, while these forces influence a resident female (Isla Johnston, credited as an outsider) who the son forms a relationship with, and gives everyone troubling visions of a grim future. The Carpenter in particular struggles with his role in the narrative, occasionally berating the son he doesn't completely grasp.

Discussion and Care

The content is apt to invite debate, and Nathan approaches it with a lot of care — too much, possibly. The concept of a teenage boy facing his destined offering and lured by unknown powers is indeed frightening, but Nathan might be wary of looking exploitative and keen to telegraph his aims, so he often withdraws to darkly ominous filming. Characters brood incessantly — FKA Twigs, who demonstrated genuine potential in a recent film update, interestingly — cedes her performance to her character's costume, sometimes broken up by several gruesome scary visuals.

Cage's Performance and Movie's Shortcomings

At the same time, the actor dabbles in precisely the type of melodramatic acting that those who enjoy his campier roles may desire. There is a moment (featured) in promotional material in which he erupts and screams “I’ve lost my faith!” Should such of florid outburst is a component of a religious scary film, possibly a more boldly ridiculous approach would be more effective of his eagerness to exaggerate if needed. Instead, the film echoes the less successful low-budget movies Cage made through much of the 2010s — apart from the B-movies so much as the dramas and supernatural thrillers that typically appear interesting, and usually have some select memorable scenes, but in the end seem like, well, low-budget DTV material.

Truthfully, a number of those, while less ambitious, were more watchable in general. This is when I must violate my usual practice, not religious but professional: Previously, a beloved editor persuaded me to remove adjectives like “monotonous” or “lifeless” from my reviewing language. Such terms communicate minimal except a subjective and generically described restlessness, avoiding the duty of clearly expressing the intellectual and feeling of watching a specific film. It's hard to express monotony without seeming uninteresting personally. It’s no more expressive as terming a movie “notable.” “Explain further,” essentially.

However, I admit, I grew weary throughout The Carpenter’s Son. To the movie’s non-exploitative credit, it is a churchy kind of dullness, not due to this movie is moralizing, but because it requires a type of obedient endurance to sit through it. After a while early on, this feature locks into a repetitive rhythm of simmering anguish, and does not