The Carpenter’s Son review
Jesus: The Smallville years.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
The Carpenter’s Son
Directed by Lotfy Nathan
Written by Lotfy Nathan
Starring Nicolas Cage, Noah Jupe, FKA twigs, Isla Johnston, Souheila Yacoub, Penelope Markopoulou and Orestis Paliadelis
The Carpenter’s Son Review
Maybe it’s because The Carpenter’s Son is so deadly serious…but I couldn’t get the comparison to Smallville out of my mind. I don’t mean it as a negative…the parallels are just too obvious to ignore. This shouldn’t be a surprise. Superman has always had a pretty dramatic Jesus’ allegory aspect to it. It’s rarely been on more display than here, however. The Carpenter’s Son is pretty to look at, features some delicious over-acting…and would make for a fairly decent episode of Smallville.
Though credited as The Carpenter (Nicolas Cage), The Mother (FKA Twigs) and The Boy (Noah Jupe) this is very much a story about Joseph, Mary and Jesus. Set during a period of Jesus’s life that doesn’t get much attention in media, The Carpenter’s Son explores…well…what you would see on Smallville. Human parents try to figure out how to raise their son as he discovers his powers and seeks out his true heritage. The movie even gives The Boy a corrupted friend to tempt him off path. A biblical Lex Luthor, if you will.
Though The Carpenter’s Son is billed as a psychological horror film…it plays better as a religious film. One that will piss off religious people since it’s about a Jesus who is angry and full of doubts. Or, as we know it, becoming a teenager. There is some gore, and evil is definitely afoot…but The Carpenter’s Son isn’t looking to jump scare you or unsettle you in traditional horror ways. It’s just a chapter of a larger story whose other chapters people like to talk about more.
It’s also a Nicolas Cage movie. Look, if you’ve ever listened to our podcast you know that Nic Cage talk has a fairly large presence on it. Any new Nic Cage horror (or horror adjacent) project isn’t going to be ignored on this website. Cage performances are almost always interesting. Not always in good ways. He plays The Carpenter…and he plays him as Nicolas Cage. If you want a scene with unnecessary and comical screaming…you’ll find it. At his best, Cage can disappear into a role. In The Carpenter’s Son he pretty much looks like a long-haired Nicolas Cage walking around the desert. The whole movie is in English…but The Carpenter sounds too much like Nicolas Cage to fully buy into his role as the human father of the messiah. He’s not bad…and he’s certainly committed. He’s just…Nic Cage.
I’ve seen some reviews of The Carpenter’s Son that call it boring. I wasn’t bored by it at all. In fact, I was surprised by how invested I found myself in the story as someone who doesn’t enjoy religious films. That’s the first clue that its target audience likely isn’t the one that movies about Jesus are normally targeting. Honestly, I’m not sure who this movie is aimed at. What I do know is that there isn’t enough horror to please horror fans…and it isn’t the type of religious story that will please religious people.
So, what is The Carpenter’s Son? Well…it’s a really good looking movie with strong cinematography and excellent set design. A movie that has some interesting imagery and a darkness to it that I appreciated. Nic Cage is Nic Caging a bit too much for the material…though some may enjoy watching Joseph question things in a way a normal person would. There are some good ideas here. Probably not enough to fill out the story to most people’s satisfaction though. You’ll be waiting for the movie’s next idea until long after it hasn’t come.
Though I don’t know who to recommend The Carpenter’s Son to…I am left feeling that I thought it was interesting enough to be enjoyed by somebody. I mostly did. Or, at least, I found myself invested enough in this darker take on a period of Jesus’s life to have not regretted watching it. Faint praise? Absolutely. Unlike the boy in the story…The Carpenter’s Son doesn’t work miracles.
Scare Value
Watching a young Jesus discover who he is makes The Carpenter’s Son oddly interesting. There isn’t enough here to make it a must-see in any way…but this darker take on an under-discussed period of Jesus’s life does feel new and different enough to earn its way. Not to anything important of overly memorable, mind you. But for what must be a very small sliver of people…it’s got a little something. Not enough to know who that sliver of people are, however.
2.5/5
The Carpenter’s Son Link
Buy tickers on Fandango
Now I absolutely have to see this film, I’ve probably seen every Nic Cage movie since Valley Girl.
I really enjoy reading your reviews, please keep up the most excellent work you put into these films.