Nicolas Cage's Religious Thriller Film Is Less Extreme Than Expected

The acclaimed actor could be the perfect pick for a daring horror film centered on Jesus Christ, though not for the causes many audiences might assume. In reality, the star doesn't even portray Jesus in The Carpenter’s Son: his character is listed simply as The Carpenter. Cage is cast as the Joseph in this tale, striving to keep his religious convictions as the teenage character (portrayed by Noah Jupe), his now-teenage adopted son, commences to show supernatural abilities. The explanation it’s difficult to picture another leading star in this role is that while the figure becomes weighed down with multiple trials, Cage himself seems nearly moving confident that the murky, bleak small film is worth his time.

The Actor's Latest Career Choices

Cage was using his time more carefully lately. He yet makes more films than the majority of regular audiences will ever see — as an illustration, did you know that the man has filmed a trio of distinct cowboy movies in the past three years? — however he also includes high-profile independent films such as one recent hit, Pig, and a further title. This new film seems like one of those, as it’s not strictly scary, possibly controversial, and handles a campy-sounding premise quite seriously.

Movie's Storyline and Handling

Sadly, writer-director Lotfy Nathan does not reward that serious attention. The Carpenter’s Son opens in a compellingly nomadic setting, marketed as inspired by an unknown scripture about Christ’s childhood. The Carpenter, the maternal figure, and their son move from place to place, fearful of doctrinal intolerance or suspicion regarding The Boy’s unusual abilities. “Disaster trails us,” The Carpenter mournfully notes. It goes on as sinister entities focus on the household where they currently live, beginning on the well-known scriptural test for The Boy.

Sometimes, the movie mirrors an demonic possession-type possession movie, though not one of the lead characters are clearly inhabited. On the contrary, they grow more and more distant from one another, while these entities influence a local young woman (the actress, named “The Stranger”) that The Boy bonds with, and presents everyone unsettling premonitions of a bleak destiny. Cage's role notably fights with his place in the narrative, occasionally scolding the son he doesn't completely grasp.

Discussion and Care

This material is likely to invite debate, and Nathan treats it with much care — too much, possibly. The idea of a young man confronted with his eventual sacrifice and tempted by dark influences is certainly frightening, but Nathan may be wary of looking exploitative and keen to signal his intentions, so he often withdraws to darkly ominous visuals. The roles constantly ponder — the singer-actress, who displayed notable talent in another movie, interestingly — cedes her role to her character's costume, occasionally interrupted by several gruesome scary visuals.

The Star's Performance and Movie's Flaws

At the same time, Cage toy with precisely the type of overacting that his more snickering appreciators could be expecting. One scene (shown) in previews in which Cage erupts and screams “My faith has been shattered!” When this sort of theatrical release is a component of a religious scary film, maybe a more brazenly silly method would take better advantage of Cage’s willingness to go over the top if needed. On the other hand, The Carpenter’s Son is closer to the weaker straight-to-DVD movies the actor filmed over the 2010s — apart from the B-movies but rather the narrative films and ghost stories that always sound promising, and often contain some select memorable scenes, but finally come across like, indeed, inexpensive direct-to-consumer content.

Honestly, several of these, although simpler, were more entertaining overall. Here is where I have to break my usual practice, not spiritual but work-oriented: Previously, a respected mentor convinced me to remove words like “boring” or “dull” from my reviewing language. These phrases communicate minimal but a individual and generically described impatience, avoiding the job of clearly expressing the thoughtful and feeling of viewing an individual production. It’s difficult to communicate tedium without seeming uninteresting personally. It's just as unclear as calling a movie “interesting.” “Say more,” essentially.

However, I admit, I was bored during much of The Carpenter’s Son. To the movie’s non-exploitative credit, it is a devotional type of stultification, not due to The Carpenter’s Son is lecturing, but because it demands a type of patient acceptance to sit through it. At some point in the beginning, the movie enters a repetitive rhythm of ongoing suffering, and fails to