Nicolas Cage is a down-on-his-luck actor who’s struggling to see the vision for his future endeavors. When he travels in order to escape his troubles and make a few bucks in the process, he meets his biggest fan, Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal), and the two engage in a wild ride of drugs, violence, and abduction unlike anything they had ever expected. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is the journey through the mind and the career of Cage, and his life is anything but normal.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a meta telling of Cage’s existence, his accolades, and the direction in which he’s heading from here. Within this story of Cage exists a laugh-out-loud-funny, action-packed mystery thriller that keeps viewers on their toes and never relents. Full of high-octane action, some of the best acting I’ve ever seen by Cage, and a cast that knows how to reach its viewers emotionally, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is one of the best films of the year.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Nicolas Cage has sort of teetered on the fence between below average and acceptable in terms of acting. For maybe the first time in his career he has jumped off of the fence completely and dipped his toe in the bright blue waters of massive talent. Cage finds himself in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent showing not just some emotion, but all of it. He’s a strange actor, Cage. In the big picture, Cage is average at best; as his ability to reach viewers comes as a result of how odd and left-of-center his acting is, however, when the camera gets up close and personal, begging him to show emotion in the most riveting parts of the film, Cage is brilliant. There’s no telling which Cage will show up in each scene–and, at his worst he’s something to laugh at, but at his best he’s as good as anyone in Hollywood.
The cinematography, settings, soundtrack, score, etc. work together beautifully to create a marvelous cinematic experience. Out of these aforementioned aspects, the one that is most impressive is the cinematography. Nigel Bluck is tasked with bringing the often-changing visuals to life. Capturing the emotion on the faces of the many actors, bringing to life the action-packed sequences of violence, and creating a cinematic spectacle between the lines of the narrative are all things that Bluck is tasked with throughout the course of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. There is one scene toward the start of the film in which Cage is in the process of mentally falling apart, and as he pours himself a drink, the extreme closeup on the glass shows the ice inside beginning to crack–and at this moment, maybe ten minutes into the film, I realized that this film was destined to be a masterpiece.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is full of wonderful relevance and emotion that mirrors the real world. However, it’s filled with brilliant comedy as well. That comedy doesn’t just bring balance to the more tense situations present in the film, it makes you laugh out loud. My wife often tells me that I don’t show emotion when I watch films (and she’s right–I simply sit there and absorb the content), but I laughed almost to the point of tears during The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. This is the funniest film that I’ve seen in years, and I can guarantee it finds success as a result of the comedy that both Cage and Pascal bring to life throughout the film.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is the first “random” film that we’ve gone to see in theaters in more than four years. We head to the theater for Star Wars, Marvel, Fast and Furious, and the occasional Disney film, but not since the release of Unsane in 2018 have we stepped foot in a theater for something other than a film connected to our favorite franchises. This is almost like new territory for us, and as the lights went out, and the most unexpected of songs began to play, we knew that, whether we loved the film or not, this was worth the trip. There is talk about getting viewers to theaters throughout the course of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and everything that this film does should guide viewers to the theater. It’s brilliant in every way. Hilarious, cinematically beautiful, and the talent of Cage and Pascal shine through like never before.
Directed by Tom Gormican.
Written by Kevin Etten & Tom Gormican.
Starring Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Ike Barinholtz, Sharon Horgan, Neil Patrick Harris, Tiffany Haddish, Lily Mo Sheen, Alessandra Mastronardi, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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