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Nicolas Cage may be the perfect selection for a bold scary movie centered on the biblical figure, however not for the reasons some audiences could guess. Truthfully, the star doesn't even play Jesus in the new film: his role is credited merely as The Carpenter. Cage is cast as a father figure within this tale, striving to keep his faith as The Boy (portrayed by the young actor), his adolescent adopted son, starts to show miraculous gifts. The reason it's challenging to picture any other leading star taking this character is that while the figure is stricken with various difficulties, Cage himself looks nearly moving confident that this murky, bleak little movie is deserving of his effort.

Cage's Current Film Selections

Nicolas Cage has been allocating those years more judiciously recently. He yet makes more movies than the majority of regular audiences may ever watch — for instance, did you know that the man has made a trio of distinct frontier films in the past three years? — however he also adds prestige critically acclaimed roles for example one recent hit, another notable movie, and a further title. This new film sounds like one of those, because it’s borderline horror, potentially provocative, and takes a over-the-top concept with gravity.

The Film's Premise and Handling

Regrettably, writer-director Lotfy Nathan does not justify the audience's focus. The film starts from a interestingly wandering setting, marketed as based on an unknown scripture regarding Christ’s childhood. Cage's character, the maternal figure, and their son move constantly, afraid of doctrinal intolerance or distrust regarding their son's mysterious gifts. “Trouble pursues us,” Cage gloomily remarks. It goes on as dark forces target them at their new home, getting a jump-start with that well-known scriptural test for the youth.

Occasionally, this production echoes an demonic possession-type possession movie, though not one of the main figures are explicitly taken over. On the contrary, they grow progressively isolated from one another, while these entities affect a nearby girl (Isla Johnston, listed as an outsider) who the son bonds with, and gives all unsettling premonitions of a dark tomorrow. The Carpenter in particular grapples with his role in the narrative, at times berating the son he doesn't completely grasp.

Discussion and Caution

The subject matter is prone to court controversy, and Nathan treats it with a lot of delicacy — excessive, possibly. The concept of a young man facing his eventual sacrifice and lured by mysterious forces is indeed frightening, but the filmmaker might be hesitant regarding appearing sensational and eager to telegraph his goals, so he often falls back on gloomily threatening cinematography. The figures constantly ponder — FKA Twigs, who demonstrated genuine potential in a recent film update, of all things — cedes her role to her religious attire, at times punctuated by a few gruesome scary visuals.

The Star's Performance and Movie's Shortcomings

At the same time, Cage toy with exactly the kind of overacting that his ironic fans could be expecting. An instance (also included) in previews where Cage loses control and shouts “My faith has been shattered!” If that kind of dramatic explosion is part of your religious scary film, possibly a more brazenly silly method would be more effective of his eagerness to be extreme as required. Rather, The Carpenter’s Son echoes the less successful low-budget productions Cage made through much of that period — excluding the campy action films but rather the dramas and supernatural thrillers that typically appear interesting, and often contain some select memorable scenes, but in the end seem like, indeed, low-budget DTV material.

Truthfully, several of these, although simpler, were easier to view overall. This is when I have to violate my own dogma, not faith-based but career-related: Long ago, a respected mentor convinced me to banish descriptive terms like “boring” or “dull” from my reviewing language. Such terms express scant but a personal and broadly stated lack of patience, withdrawing from the task of clearly expressing the intellectual and sensation of seeing a specific film. It's hard to convey boredom without seeming uninteresting yourself. It’s no more expressive as calling a movie “engaging.” “Say more,” in other words.

Yet, I acknowledge, I was bored for a large part of the film. In its defense, it’s a churchy kind of boredom, not for The Carpenter’s Son is lecturing, but because it requires a sort of patient acceptance to sit through it. After a while early on, the film enters a cyclic tempo of simmering anguish, and does not