SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

US, 2023, 90 minutes, Colour.

Nicolas Cage, Joel Kinnaman, Alexis Zellicoffer, Burns Burns.

Directed by Yuval Adler.

Not a variation on the Rolling Stones.

This is a Nicolas Cage film, one of those maniacal performances, maniacal in look, maniacal in sound, sometimes controlled, sometimes beyond control.

The film opens like a thriller, Joel Kinnaman taking his wife to the hospital to give birth, Cage intruding and demanding that he drive him to a destination, holding a gun to the driver. What emerges is a story of changed identity, crime in the past, desire for revenge.

Along the way, which is mainly filmed inside the car, there is a stopover when the driver speeds and a policeman pulls him up, a Nicolas Cage tantalising conversation with the policeman and then shooting him. There are car crashes, and dramatic scene and threats in a diner, more menace.

The film seems something like a short story. It has been directed by Yuval Adler, Israeli director of the spy film, The Operative.

1. The title? It use? And which character here is devilish?
2. Nick Cage fans, his presence, the red hair, menacing, psychotic, over the top, maniacal in sound and look?
3. The opening situation, the driver, his family, the child, his pregnant wife, driving to the hospital, sense of urgency, the phone calls with the hospital?
4. Trying to park, the shock of the passenger, getting in, menacing, the gun, the driver and his urgency for his wife, no explanations, insistence, menace?
5. The drama of the drive, the alleged destination for the mother in hospital, the driver’s uneasiness, nervous, tension? The confidence of the passenger, sneering, mockery? The bulk of the film with the audience identifying, distancing from the characters?
6. The conversation, the threats, the gun, speeding, the police, the passenger and his mock interrogation about questions and rights, shooting the policeman?
7. The issue of identity, the passenger insinuating the driver’s previous identity, Boston, giving the details about the company, the accountant, the violence, the death of the passenger’s wife?
8. The attempted crash, confrontation, shooting, the fights?
9. The diner, the waitress, the details of the menu, no substitution, the passenger and his tantrum about cheese? The truck driver, observing, the passenger pulling the gun, the trucker fleeing, shot, the foot on his neck? The mother and child fleeing? The cook, attempting to run, shot, getting out of the diner, the later encounter with the passenger, left to die? The waitress, the discussions about the menu, her hiding and fears, let go?
10. The buildup to the truth, admission, psychological warfare, menace? The crashing of the car, the passenger and his injuries, the driver escaping, his foot on the passenger’s neck, death, going to the hospital? His future?