To find another example of Cage doing good work we have to go back to 2003. Working under director Ridley Scott, Cage takes a part in Matchstick Men that, again, and this is becoming a recurring theme, could have been completely played up for laughs rather than drama and emotion and brings to it the level of realism that it requires. The weird tics and stutters of the Roy character would be very easy to make into a caricature. Often mental disorders like OCD and phobias and verbal outbursts can seem gimmicky, and initially it almost appears like this movie is set to go down that road, but Cage finds a way to make them just a sample of the many dimensions of a character, rather than the whole of a person. They’re big gestures but they’re handled in smart way. We’ve only seem him this good one other time since 2003. That’s a span of 10 years with mostly disappointing roles for a talented dude. It’s too bad.
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Published: Apr 9, 2013 11:14 pm