Cage Match: Mandy

Cage Match is an ongoing look at the direct to DTV works of Nicolas Cage. I'll watch them, review them and rank them so we can determine what reigns supreme in this era of Cage.

What’s Cage up to this time?

I was hoping this one would show up a little later in this whole feature for two reasons:

1)            It’s again one of the few movies I’ve already seen

2)            This one is going to shoot up to the top of the ranking list and it’s going to take a lot for something to dethrone it

However, the random number generator is law, so I was not allowed to go against it. Though I do admit that Mandy didn’t all the way click for me on viewing one, and the hype has not decreased around it since, so I was curious about viewing two.

Anyway! What IS Cage up to this time? Cage is Red, a logger leading a quiet life with his girlfriend Mandy in a remote cabin. They have a very chill existence, talking about their favourite planets and telling amazing knock knock jokes. Then a bunch of asshole cultists show up and fuck the whole thing up so Red absolutely HAS to murder a bunch of cultists.

Who else is in the cage?

I immediately recognized Andrea Riseborough (who plays Mandy) from what I was planning to say was an underappreciated Tom Cruise movie (Oblivion), but it looks like it’s super appreciated so never mind! Well done society for appreciating Oblivion.

There’s also Bill Duke in a quick role and of course we all know him from Predator, Commando and Sister Act II: Back in the Habit.

The writer/director is Panos Cosmatos, who has only done one other movie called Beyond the Black Rainbow. It doesn’t sound like something I’m going to rush and watch but people online seem to dig it.

Is the movie worthy of Cage?

When I first viewed Mandy closer to its release, I appreciated many aspects of it, but it didn’t leave much of an impression. I saw the universal praise being heaped on it and felt left out. I’m glad this feature gave me an opportunity to revisit it because, while I still am not completely in love with it, it grew on me significantly more with viewing two.

The movie, of course, looks fantastic. Nearly every single frame of this thing could be captured and hung up on your wall as a piece of art, which is something you should absolutely do before you host company again. It’s consistently beautiful to look at, making great use of colours and imagery. This is a movie where Cage has a chainsaw fight against a Cenobite looking dude while completely covered in blood, so obviously it has a lot going for it in the visual department.

Cage is great as well. His character goes through one hell of a classic Cage transformation here. He begins quiet and reserved and by the end is a full-blown screaming maniac who is yelling about his ripped shirt while frequently snorting cocaine. It’s especially great because, unlike other movies where the execution doesn’t live up to the description, what I just detailed is even more amazing to watch play out in front of your lucky eyeballs.

The first and final acts of the movie worked the best for me. I liked watching the details of Red and Mandy’s quiet life and the growing sense of dread as the leader of this Children of the New Dawn cult takes an interest in Mandy. There’s a stretch in the middle where the cult leader has first taken Mandy and he spends far too long talking about his past as a failed musician and whatever. The scene probably isn’t all that long, but it felt like it went well beyond my point of interest. Thankfully things pick up after that as we get the scene with Bill Duke and then the absolute batshit finale. I don’t dare spoil anything that happens in the final act, but let me assure you that it is absolutely worth your time.

The majority of the movie is in no hurry to get anywhere and moves at an absolutely glacial pace, but it works outside of that one bit in the middle where I started to zone out. The whole thing is hypnotic and as I said, nearly every frame is a marvel to look at. It’s a truly unique piece of cinema and my appreciation for it continues to grow.

How Cage-y is Cage?

Oh fuck, the Cagiest. I only did Mom and Dad a couple entries ago and it felt like it wasn’t going to get any Cagier than that. This though? I think it wins out because we also get calm and collected Cage. Introspective Cage. In Mom and Dad, he’s a maniac even before the plot dictates he become a maniac.  Here it builds to that until he completely explodes at the end. By the time he’s covered in blood and snorting cocaine and having chainsaw fights, it feels like a natural progression. It doesn’t get better than this, my friends.

You bought the blu-ray?! Are there bonus features at least?!

There’s a few actually!

There’s about 20 minutes worth of behind-the-scenes footage and cast/crew interviews. It’s surprisingly absent of Cage which is odd (he even did the Outcast bonus features, for fuck’s sake) but it’s certainly not light on praise for the man.

There’s also about 13 minutes worth of deleted and extended scenes. They are weirdly normal for a movie that is completely over the edge. They are mostly conversations, some that give a bigger insight into Red and Mandy’s relationship. I’m also pretty confident Cage talks more in these deleted scenes then he does in the ones in the movie.

Should you get into this cage?

I think you should! It’s certainly a unique entry in his filmography. It’s a unique entry in the world’s filmography. It’s a fascinating watch that I feel should be experienced at least once.

Where does it rank?

I doubt it would surprise you that this sucker is going straight to the top!

Mandy
Mom and Dad
Rage
Arsenal
Vengeance: A Love Story
Running with the Devil
Seeking Justice
Primal
Pay the Ghost
Outcast
Left Behind

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