Review of The Carpenter’s Son – Nicolas Cage is predictably a misfire in lackluster horror writing | Nicolas Cage

IIt’s hard to know how seriously one should take a film in which Nicolas Cage plays Joseph, the carpenter who doubles as Jesus’ adoptive father. One might expect, with the actor still relying on his distinctive California twang and theatrical outbursts, that this would be another late-career role, like playing Dracula or himself. But in The Carpenter’s Son, a dangerous, bewildering mix of horror, drama and fantasy, it slowly begins to dawn on us that this is actually no joke. What it is I can’t tell you but entertainment certainly isn’t.

Written by Egyptian-born writer and director Lotfy Nathan, the film is inspired by the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, a text considered heretical by some, and offers a controversial “insight” into Jesus’ early years. Nathan begins by guiding us to the fact that this is not your typical Sunday school vicar’s biblical drama, as a screaming, cave-based birth sequence is followed by a bonfire for the babies, and King Herod’s men throw more and more while the mothers cry on the side. Cage’s unnamed carpenter and the new mother at his side (FKA Twigs) escape and we jump forward to see them moving to a remote village with their teenage offspring, known as Boy (Noah Jupe).

There’s the suspense of a better movie here, the idea of ​​following Jesus as an unusually gifted boy trying to find his way and understand his place in a world of conflicting forces providing interesting dramatic tension. His father is morose and religious, fasting to show his devotion and shutting off any light (and the sight of the sexy neighbors showering next door) outside the house. The townspeople are suspicious and unfriendly except for a strange, lonely girl who longs for someone to play with.

It doesn’t take long to figure out who and what the girl is (spoiler: it’s not good) but it takes a little longer to understand what Nathan is trying to do by rehashing a familiar tale. Is it a supernatural coming-of-age story? Is it the gonzo horror of balls to the wall? Is it a superhero origin story? Is it a social and political commentary on the obstacles faced by an undeniable character? The answer is yes to all but no to if it all works together. The film is chaotic and atonal and, if short, a waste of attractive locations (it was all shot in rural Greece).

The beautiful spectacle is all that Nathan can safely rely on to impress us with his demonic imagery that proves bad-ass but not exactly scary. What’s even scarier is its rushed storytelling, as the film escalates at a somewhat confusing pace, as if at the last minute it was forced to be cut into pieces and frantically put back together (not that I’d want to see the longer version but it’s definitely out there somewhere). He’s less sure what to do with his team who seem to act differently in terrible movies. FKA’s twigs are as harsh and unconvincing as they were in last year’s horrific remake of The Crow, and while Jupe comes out mostly unscathed (it’s all just being ungrateful to him and not actively embarrassing), Cage is predictably miscast. His performance is stuck between the more effective, silent work he’s given in recent films like Pig and Dream Scenario and the fan-pleasing Midnighter, which is even worse, over the top because no one seems able to stop him. It’s as poorly edited as the film around it, which never explodes into full-blown horror but never quite has the emotional gravitas to be a drama of real power, languishing somewhere in the middle instead.

It’s very difficult to determine not because it is brave and creative To fit into the system, but because it’s never clear that anyone involved knows what the hell they’re doing. Whatever their answers, I’m sure Nathan and Cage weren’t aiming to make something this boring.