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A Fresh Look At: Natural Born Killers (1994)

Face Off: Nicolas Cage’s 10 Best Performances

by Jakob Johnson on August 24, 2014

8. Matchstick Men (2003) – Directed by Ridley Scott

 

As obsessive-compulsive con artist Roy Weller, Cage again hinges on his apparently natural ability to tap into some deep well of eccentricity to deliver a performance that appropriately matches Ridley Scott’s frenetic stylings and co-star Sam Rockwell’s fast, smooth, and wise-cracking persona. Constantly twitchy and perpetually annoyed, Cage gives Roy Weller a sense of vulnerability—something that puts him at odd with himself, as Weller is, by profession, not a good person. Without Cage’s ability to make even the most pathetic and detestable characters somehow likeable, it is hard to imagine the character of Roy Weller being the center of a film, and yet he is. Cage embodies what the film delivers thematically—that is, he embodies the character of one wracked by mental illness and a past of misdeed and guilt and portrays him with a growing vulnerability and softness that builds the character arc to what becomes a fantastic climax.

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(All Features), Features, Issue #17, Lists
AdaptationBringing Out the DeadFace/OffjoeLeaving Las VegasMatchstick MenNic Cagenicolas cageRaising ArizonaThe Bad LieutenantThe Weather ManWild At Heart
Adaptation, Bringing Out the Dead, Face/Off, joe, Leaving Las Vegas, Matchstick Men, Nic Cage, nicolas cage, Raising Arizona, The Bad Lieutenant, The Weather Man, Wild At Heart
About the Author
Jakob Johnson
Jakob Johnson
Jakob is a full-time student, full-time aspiring filmmaker, and part-time contributing member of society currently residing in the barren wasteland known as "Central Pennsylvania." On most days, you can find him hunched over a laptop—surrounded by a horde of cats—attempting to have a voice in the cinematic world.
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AdaptationjoeLeaving Las Vegasnicolas cage
 

Becoming Self-Aware: 10 Meta Movies about Artistic Process

by Maximilien Luc Proctor on December 8, 2014
On the surface, movies general tend to focus all of their primary efforts on relating a narrative arc in a way that keeps viewers engaged – from academically-minded cinephiles to families that just want to be entertained in the dark for an hour or two. Surprisingly, films which make no direct reference to the act […]
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