The Unbearable Weight of Massive Amounts of Memes
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is good for one obvious reason: Nicholas Cage.
Do you like Nicholas Cage? is a polarising question, with some think he's a hammy Hollywood hack who owes his career to nepotism and others that Cage one is of a few performance artists trying to elevate the art, seeing every role as an opportunity to do something fresh and memorable. But if you love Cage, you'll likely enjoy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
Unlike the D-grade buddy-crime film that flounders around him, Cage mesmerises in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. 'How hard can it be to play yourself?' is one of the many interesting questions the movie poses. Non-acting celebrities are made to do this regularly in cameo appearances, like Ed Sheeran, Paris Hilton, Simon Cowell etc. apart from a few hilarious exceptions, most people do a serviceable job of playing themselves in front of a camera, from Dave Grohl to Michael Jordan. But this movie made me think of something I'd never considered before: pretending to be yourself must be a bit like playing the piano - it's easy to do a decent enough job, but to make truly it soar needs a true artist. That's what Cage manages to do in this otherwise extremely unremarkable film. That's not to say it's a generation-defining performance, Cage's best, or even that he saves this elsewisedly piss-poor movie. With thanks to Cage, it's an enjoyably 'meta' movie, but it's no Synecdoche.
The performance turned in by Cage demonstrates an impressive level of self-awareness. His portrayal of himself is not a flattering one. It contains an amount of pathos and subtly with which others might struggle, great actors or not. But it also portrays deep insecurities his detractors might close in on in interviews and performances. He even has an imaginary friend version of himself, based on his public perception, garishly dressed and often taunting. It makes him seem profoundly and amusingly insane.
The question playing on your mind during the film is: is this real Cage? Has he created this character based on the way he's viewed? The Nicholas Cage portrayed by Cage, has all the hallmarks of a good Nicholas Cage character, such as intensity, mania - these all resting on a foil provided by the milquetoast supporting cast. It makes you wonder: is this what it's like to be Cage? An extreme ball of energy surrounded by a cast of mundane loved ones? Is this how he views the world around him? These questions kept the movie engaging, as I wondered how much of this character is Cage the person and how much is Cage the actor. Cage must understand whatever he does with this character will reflect on him as a person, but he seems to ignore this in pursuit of his art which is admirable. The movie's non-Cage-related (shit) aspects are touched on - eg a screenplay within a screenplay which laments how cliche it is to have kidnapping in a movie while the film itself features a kidnapping, so it is aware of what it is. Maybe it's this movie's schlock that lets Cage create a self-deprecating version of himself at a comfortable distance.
The other stuff the general public knows about Cage: money-troubles and being in lots of crap movies, aren't ignored but they're sort of glossed over. Now that we have proof that Nicholas Cage playing Cage works - could we get a spiritual successor to this where we delve slightly deeper into his day-to-day life? Like a more serious, Cage-centred Curb your Enthusiasm. It'd be cool to see something less about memes and more about the length Cage is able to go to when given his favourite and most intimately known subject matter: himself.
(the editor) Dan.
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