Mandy (2018)

When I first heard people saying how great Nicolas Cage's latest movie, Mandy, was, I thought they were kidding. Then I checked on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, I saw it had a good rating on both sites so I checked it out. 

Set in 1983, Mandy tells the story of a loving couple, Red (Nicolas Cage) and Mandy (Andrea Riseborough), who lives in a cabin in the woods. Red is a lumberjack; Mandy is an artist who works at a nearby gas station. They lead a happy, quiet life until one day the crazy leader (Linus Roache) of a cult lays eyes on Mandy and conjures a group of motorcycle-riding demons to kidnap her, leading to Red spiralling into a madness-fueled revenge. 

Unfortunately, words are not enough to describe how fucked up Mandy's plot is. Frankly, I'm not even sure I understood half of what was going on in the film. I'm not even sure the film has a story, to be honest. But it didn't bother me at all, at least not at first. I indeed found the first half of the film very interesting and absorbing. However, when the revenge kicked in, I gradually began to lose my interest. I just didn't care for the characters' fate.

Which makes total sense considering how I felt or rather nor felt about the characters. Despite the fact that Panos Cosmatos took a good amount of time to introduce the characters --and I loved the introductions--, I just didn't feel empathy or sympathy for the characters. I did feel sorry for Red at some point but it was just for a moment.

The cast, however, really impressed me. Nicolas Cage gives one of the best performances of his career, arguably the best in recent years. He occasionally overacts and says his lines in a very strange way, but his portrayal of Red, a man who descends into madness, is insanely good; Andrea Riseborough is amazing as Mandy --and I loved the Wendy Torrance-look Cosmatos gave her; Linus Roache gives a great performance as the creepy leader of the cult, a very deranged, evil man.

RLJE Films

The most striking aspect of Mandy is the visuals. The film heavily relies on them and it pays off as they are stunning. The flashy, vivid colours, the amazing camera work, the incredible attention to details --whether it's costumes or locations--, the effects, the gore, they all are on point and make of Mandy a feast for the eyes. To enhance the incredibly beautiful visual experience there's a phenomenal, psychedelic score by the late  Jóhann Jóhansson.

Ultimately, Mandy was not as good as I expected, as I found the writing to be quite poor and the second part, the revenge, too dragged, but it still made for quite an unsettling and unique experience. This is definitely a Nicolas Cage movie I do not regret seeing.