Sympathy for the Devil review.
Nicolas Cage goes full Nicolas Cage in the otherwise slight but effective Sympathy for the Devil.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Sympathy for the Devil
Directed by Yuval Adler
Written by Luke Paradise
Starring Nicolas Cage, Joel Kinnaman, Kaiwi Lyman, Cameron Lee Price and Burns Burns
Sympathy for the Devil Review
Anyone who has listened to our podcast will know that we here at Scare Value have a certain…appreciation…for the work of Nicolas Cage. Specifically, the off the rails version of Cage that led to years of jokes and a more recent positive reassessment. Let’s face it, when you’re hitting play on a Nicolas Cage movie…you want a certain something out of the experience. That’s not to say that every movie needs Cage’s patented energy. But a good Nic Cage movie does involve the space and freedom to explore his character however he sees fit. Renfield allowed him to steal every scene with his interpretation of Dracula. Sympathy for the Devil lets him do whatever he wants.
It does take some time to get to the good stuff, however. Sympathy for the Devil starts slowly. Then it stays that way for about a half hour. We spend almost the entire first act stuck in a car with Nicolas Cage’s passenger and Joel Kinnamen’s driver. The characters are afforded names eventually…but they’re credited as The Passenger and The Driver for good reason. Identity plays a major part in the mystery of Sympathy for the Devil.
The story begins simply. The Driver’s wife has gone into labor, and he is on his way to the hospital to join her. When he arrives, The Passenger enters his backseat and tells him to drive away. It takes some convincing…but nothing a gun pointed at The Driver can’t cure. After a round of riddles and non-answers The Driver learns that The Passenger wants to be driven to a different hospital to see his mother who is dying of cancer. The Driver doesn’t believe this story. The Passenger…well…he doesn’t believe that The Driver is who he says he is at all.
Things escalate when The Driver is pulled over for speeding. The Passenger doesn’t care for the officer’s conduct and shows The Driver exactly how serious his situation is. Attempts to escape are thwarted by The Passenger’s threats towards his wife. If The Driver doesn’t do exactly what he is told…The Passenger will head back to the hospital and pay her a visit. It’s a simple but effective method to explain why The Driver doesn’t make a more concerted effort to turn the tables on his abductor.
The movie kicks into another gear when the duo stops at a diner. This is where Cage aficionados will get their fix. Though he shows glimpses of being unhinged in the first act…from here on out we get the full Cage experience. Violent, funny…weird. The total package. Kinnamen plays the straight man for Cage’s odder impulses. It’s a thankless role but he does it very well. Despite The Passenger’s insistence that The Driver is a man he knew in Boston long ago…The Driver maintains that this is a case of mistaken identity. Things turn bad very quickly as The Passenger grows more and more frustrated.
The highlight of Sympathy for the Devil, at least for Cage fanatics, takes place during their time at the diner. The slow burn to full blown Cage finally boils over. A random play on a juke box sees The Passenger singing and dancing his way through a rendition of Alicia Bridges’ I Love the Nightlife. It’s the kind of Nic Cage scene that you imagine in your head when you try to think of classic Nic Cage scenes. Nose busted, gun-toting, red suited, crooning through a room of terrified patrons and employees. Sympathy for the Devil would get a recommendation for this moment alone.
While the Cage performance is worth the price of admission…the central mystery is effective as well. It takes a long time to discover who The Passenger thinks The Driver is. It takes the entire film to find out if he’s right. What starts as a ride at gunpoint escalates into a game of truth or die…with random people at risk if The Passenger isn’t satisfied with The Driver’s answers. There’s an excellent scene in a parking lot surrounded by fire as well. What makes Sympathy for the Devil interesting is that it managed to build tension even though it withholds what is going on. Or who either of these people are.
If you are a fan of full, untethered, Nicolas Cage…Sympathy for the Devil should be on your radar. A slow start is rewarded with a satisfying escalation of danger. A steady revealing of information keeps your interest through the long night. You may guess the film’s ultimate destination before it arrives…but excellent performances and an effective, if slight, story make for a ride worth taking.
Scare Value
Sympathy for the Devil doesn’t try to do a lot…which means it has to hit on what it does attempt. The good news is that what it wants to be…a light mystery thriller that gives Cage room to chew scenery…it is in spades. Those looking for action will want to steer clear. Anyone wanting to see Nic Cage sing and dance along to a disco staple while holding a diner hostage…this is the movie for you.
3/5
Sympathy for the Devil Links
Buy on VOD from Vudu and Amazon
See if it’s in a theater near you on Fandango
