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Last
several years have been quite challenging for Nicolas Cage. His troubles started
in 2009 when the IRS filed charges against him concerning unpaid federal taxes.
Cage’s financial crisis was a result of his lavish lifestyle which made payment
of tax liens and other debts a major challenge for him. The same year Cage was
sued by his partner and actress Christina Fulton. In 2011, Cage was arrested on
charges of domestic violence, which were later dropped. This was a period of
great turmoil for Cage. In order to overcome his financial difficulties, Cage
ended up doing a series of abysmal films which jolted his career badly.
Although, things have improved during the last few years, Cage is still looking
to reclaim his place in Hollywood. While his solid performances in films like Joe (2013) and The Frozen Ground (2013) did offer glimpses of what he is capable
of doing in front of the motion picture camera, he is far from his best. His
admirers all across the globe must be hoping that the real Nicolas Cage would stand
up, sooner rather than later. Perhaps, they wouldn’t have to wait for too long.
For, as many as three films of his are lined up for release in the coming two
weeks. Yes, it is not new for Cage to be on an acting spree but this time
around it is certainly not because of any financial crunch.
As
for the naysayers, they just need to look at the diversity of the three roles
that he gets to play in the three forthcoming movies. In Army of One, a comedy film directed by Larry Charles, Cage plays
an American construction worker who embarks on a mission to hunt down Osama bin
Laden in Pakistan. In USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage, a WW - II movie directed by Mario Van Peebles, Cage portrays
a dogged commanding officer who survives for five days at sea against all odds
after his ship gets torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Dog Eat Dog, Cage’s second film with Paul Schrader that also
starring Willem Dafoe, is a crime drama wherein Cage plays a crazy criminal
going after one last score. The three
roles underpin Cage’s remarkable range as an actor. After a long time Cage is able to pursue his
personal interests. Although playing flamboyant and eccentric characters, often borderning on madness, has always
been Cage’s forte, he is at his best when he is able to bring to the fore the
inner subtleties of his characters. Perhaps that’s what makes his best characters,
real and relatable.
There
are few actors as versatile and talented as Nicolas Cage. It is difficult to
think of another actor who has played roles as diverse as him. A cursory look at his career is enough to gauge
how successful he has been as a movie star over the years. But it requires a
much closer scrutiny to appreciate his remarkable range as a screen actor. Throughout
his remarkable acting career Cage has received heaps of praise from film critics
and his fellow actors alike. Here is what actor Ethan Hawke said of his acting
gifts: “He's the only actor since Marlon
Brando that's actually done anything new with the art of acting; he's
successfully taken us away from an obsession with naturalism into a kind of
presentation style of acting that I imagine was popular with the old
troubadours.” But no praise can probably match Roger Ebert’s following
testimonial: “There are often lists of
the great living male movie stars: De Niro, Nicholson and Pacino, usually. How
often do you see the name of Nicolas Cage? He should always be up there. He's
daring and fearless in his choice of roles, and unafraid to crawl out on a
limb, saw it off and remain suspended in air. No one else can project inner
trembling so effectively... he always seems so earnest. However improbable his
character, he never winks at the audience. He is committed to the character
with every atom and plays him as if he were him.”
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| Nicolas Cage in David Lynch's Wild at Heart |
Nicolas
Cage’s real name is Nicolas Kim Coppola and not many people are aware that he
is actually a nephew of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. Cage dropped the Coppola
surname to create his independent identity in showbiz. In his own words: “I needed to change my name just to liberate
myself and find out I could do it without walking into a Hollywood casting
office with the name Coppola.” It all started with a minor role in the 1982
coming-of-age teen comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Cage followed it up with memorable performances in films
like Rumble Fish (1983), The Cotton Club (1984), and Birdy (1984). But in many ways his
breakthrough role came in the 1987 film Moonstruck wherein he played a
love-struck amputated baker. The same year he played a robber turned baby
kidnapper in Coen brothers’ crime comedy Raising
Arizona (1987). After delivering a series of remarkable performances in the
early ‘90s, including that of a romantic Southern outlaw in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart (1990), he struck gold
with his unforgettable turn of an alcoholic Hollywood writer in Mike Figgis’ Leaving Las Vegas (1995). Cage grew in
stature following his Oscar win and started trying out his hands at out and out
commercial films like The Rock (1996),
Con Air (1997), Face/Off (1997), Snake Eyes
(1998), and Gone in Sixty Seconds
(2000). And just like that Cage became one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars.
During this period Cage
received severe flak from various actors: “Nic
Cage is no longer an actor. He could be again, but now he’s more like a… performer,”
observed Sean Penn; “Cage has become a
one-dimensional actor,” rued Nick Nolte; “I don’t enjoy [Cage’s] movies,” remarked Stephen
Balwin. But Cage remained unfazed.
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| Nicolas Cage in Andrew Niccol's Lord of War |
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According to Roger Ebert: Cage is a good actor in good movies and an indispensable one in bad movies.
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