You
know Nicolas Cage is going to be awesome in Mandy when his first line of
dialogue is a knock-knock joke about Erik Estrada. He also casually name drops Marvel characters
into his pillow talk with his wife (Andrea Riseborough). He’s kind of broody for most of the movie,
but once director Panos (Beyond the Black Rainbow) Cosmatos finally lets Cage
off his leash (or out of his cage, if you prefer) he’s often amazing. No one can say a simple line like, “You ripped
my shirt” and make it sound like a wounded, emotionally-unraveled battle
cry. If you think he’s wacko then, wait
till you see him high on zombie mescaline.
But
we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Cage
is a lumberjack named Red Miller who adores his wife Mandy (Riseborough). A cult of religious fanatics sends a gruesome
mutant biker gang to kidnap and kill her.
They leave Red for dead, but he returns to avenge his loved one armed
with a freshly forged battle axe and a case of pure CAGE RAGE.
Imagine
if Clive Barker did a biker movie and that might give you an idea what to expect. (Hellraiser’s Angels on Wheels?) Cosmatos’ style is visually dazzling. He often fills the frame with eye-popping
colorful imagery and lots of lens flares, which make the film look like the
love child of Dario Argento and Steven Spielberg. In addition, there’s a kitchen sink approach
that makes it unique. Cosmatos uses
everything from anime-style animation to goofy faux ‘80s commercials and what
only can be labeled as Heavy Metal Album Imagery to keep us on our toes.
Honestly,
there was no reason whatsoever for this to be two hours long. Some of Cosmatos’ tangents are less successful
than others. The deliberate pacing also
helps to take some of the wind out of the movie’s sails, particularly in the
second act.
For
all its faults, there’s still nothing quite like Mandy. It may be uneven, but when it cooks, it’s
with an open flame. Besides, any movie that
features Nicolas Cage locked in a chainsaw duel to the death is OK by me.
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