[Freya-dæg] Nicolas Cage Month Pt. 1: Deadfall Review

{The Deadfall movie poster, found on Wikipedia.}

Introduction
Plot Summary
The Good
The Bad
Judgment
Closing

Introduction

Co-written, directed, and produced by Christopher Coppola, Nicolas Cage may have gotten such a big role because of the family connection (Nic Cage is, after all a Coppola). Upon its initial release, the movie grossed $18,369 at the box office (and took 10 million to make), and critics panned it. As of this writing, the movie sits at a 0% among critics and a 29% among fans on Rotten Tomatoes - though Wikipedia notes that the Cage's role is among the best of his work that isn't supposed to be taken seriously.

So, it seems like Cage might be a high point, but what about the rest of the movie? Let's find out.

{Is Nicolas Cage a bad enough dude to save this movie?}

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Plot Summary

Meet Joe Donan (Michael Biehn), an all American boy with a secret: He's a con man. Joe's been running cons with his father Mike (James Coburn) for years, but when one of their grifts goes fatally wrong Joe follows his father's final wish and finds his twin brother. Joe meets his Uncle Lou (James Coburn) on the West Coast, along with his flunky Eddie (Nicolas Cage) and the mysterious Diane (Sarah Trigger).

Everything seems to be going well for Joe until jealousies and wild ambitions threaten to lead him into the same situation and even the same con that lead to his father's death. Will Joe be able to face up to his past in order to find his future? Or will he only stumble into the Deadfall?

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The Good

Staying very true to the form of the film noir, Deadfall is a very stylish movie. It's full of clean visuals, an excellent (if periodically ill-picked) soundtrack, and great lighting.

As per the movie's content, it also hits all of the necessary noir notes. It has a brooding hero with a past he'd rather forget, a mysterious strong-willed woman (played excellently by Trigger), a wild criminal, a calculating mastermind, and a plot that is all around sound.

Nic Cage also adds to the movie, though less through subtlety than through crazed abandon. Although we seldom see his character taking them, it's definitely clear that he's taking drugs, but what's curious about his performance here is that if the modern internet were around in the early 90s it would have been bristling with memes based on his performance here.

Cage's wild hollering, his strange intonation and word stressing, his unplaceable accent and mannerisms. In Deadfall, Nicolas Cage is practically a walking meme. Even *spoilers* his death */spoilers* could be made into a meme, or at the least could be used in a YouTube mashup with a voice over by the Mortal Kombat "Toasty!" guy.

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The Bad

It's unfair to say, but it must be said. This movie was made in 1993 and it shows. But, not in the production values, or in the special effects, more in the style and the atmosphere that it creates.

Film noir from earlier decades (China Town, Detour, The Manchurian Candidate, etc.) relied on subtlety and grit to keep their characters from becoming larger than life or unbelievable.

These elements are cast aside in Deadfall in favour of characters and situations that can only be described as *cue guitar riff* EXTRE-E-EME!

Cage himself is a good example of this, but so too are Dr. Lyme (Angus Scrimm) and Morgan "Fats" Gripp (Charlie Sheen).

Because these characters make the fiction of the movie that much larger, they make it seem a little more far-fetched than some may be willing to believe.

However, much more manifest in the movie is a problem with pacing. Thankfully it doesn't come up until the very end, but the way in which the history of Joe's parents and Uncle is revealed seems too rushed.

It's not until the last few minutes of that movie that we learn what happened between the brothers and the woman who is Joe's mother, and this is just far too late to really develop what could have been a great means of giving Joe and his father and uncle much more depth and intricacy.

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Judgment

Deadfall is a movie that deserves a second chance, a movie that was dealt with too harshly by its initial critics.

Showcasing the ham talent of a young Nicolas Cage, and encapsulating the spirit of driving things to the extreme in the 90s, its a movie that definitely should be watched by anyone interested in film noir, Nicolas Cage's career, or 90s film in general.

It's not perfect - it's definitely no Detour - but it tells its story in a competent fashion and features some great acting and actors.

So, Freya, part the glossy cloak of 90s style in which this one is wrapped and lift it up from the field of fallen films. This movie is one to be saved.

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Closing

Check back here next week for another piece of creative writing, another editorial on the newest news, and a hunt for the good in Season of the Witch. Also, be sure to check this blog on Tuesday and Thursday for more annotated links.

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