MANDY (R)
Released by RLJE Films
Review by Adam Mast
From BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW director Panos Cosmatos (son of RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD: PART II and TOMBSTONE director, George P. Cosmatos) comes this hypnotic, batshit insane, 80s-set fever dream of a horror show. And when I say batshit insane, I don’t mean that in a derogatory way. Far from it, because for all its weirdness and “WTF is going on here?!” moments, this is ultimately a story of undying love and blood-soaked vengeance brought to life by way of striking visuals, a nightmarish tone, and a ferociously committed performance by the incomparable Nicolas Cage.
In MANDY, Cage is Red Miller, a simple man who spends his days living the quiet life with his soul mate, Mandy Bloom (Andrea Riseborough.) One day, while out for a walk, Mandy catches the eye of the wrong man in the form of twisted cult leader, Sand Jeremiah (Linus Roache). Shortly thereafter, all hell breaks loose as a horrific incident sends Miller on a mission that could be best described as violent in nature. Without giving too much away, let’s just say there isn’t much this man wouldn’t do in the name of love and revenge.
The wily veteran Cage essentially has two modes: He’s the Oscar-winning actor who devastates in movies like LEAVING LAS VEGAS and he’s the blazing, manic bundle of energy we’ve seen spring to life in movies like BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS. In MANDY, lucky viewers get both sides of this outstanding actor to startling effect. There’s a moment about halfway into this picture that is so painful, and so utterly heartbreaking to watch that I almost had to turn my head, and Cage displays this pain through an extended wide-eyed look of horror that I won’t soon forget. Beyond that, it’s off to the races as Cage unleashes the kind of intense wrath that few actors would dare match. In fact, the best compliment I can pay Cage in this picture is that I couldn’t possibly imagine anyone else in this role.
And while MANDY pretty much rests on Cage’s capable shoulders (it is his Miller, after all, who serves as our guide through hell) there are other performances worth noting. Riseborough is haunting and subdued as the title character, and those eyes…Those freaking eyes! She makes you feel for Miller’s plight. Roache is perfectly terrifying (and offbeat) as the grotesque Sand Jeremiah, a sort of disturbing fusion of Buffalo Bill and Charles Manson. Finally, the great Bill Duke (PREDATOR) pops up in a small but wonderful bit part as an all-knowing hermit who gives Miller almighty words of wisdom from the confines of his trailer in the middle of nowhere.
This movie is simply nuts in all the right ways. From the brief HEAVY METAL-esque animation segments, to the strange Cenobite-like creatures of the night that Miller must dispatch one by one, to an off tangent cameo by a character called the Cheddar Goblin, to an absolutely bonkers final act in which Miller sets out to bring a handful of unsavory types to justice, there are simply too many oddly joyful moments in this picture to count, but there are also moments that cut surprisingly deep. The first half of the picture is more meditative in terms of pacing but it perfectly makes way for the fire and brimstone that is unleashed in the second half. And it’s all punctuated by stunning lighting and a perfectly fitting synth-heavy score from the late Jóhann Jóhannsson.
Cosmatos is quite the visual stylist. He really puts us inside Miller’s headspace to be sure but outside of that, the fiery, hell-inspired imagery he and his creative filmmaking team conjure up coupled with small odes to classic horror works of yesteryear (i.e. THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, THE HILLS HAVE EYES, FRIDAY THE 13TH, PHANTASM, EVIL DEAD, HELLRAISER, etc.) go a hell of a long way to keep viewers engaged even when it’s hard to entirely tell what’s always going on from a story standpoint. There’s a lot of symbolism pouring from this insane movie and I’ll be damned if I can tell you what it all means but this much is certain; MANDY is quite the wild ride and I enjoyed the hell out of it.
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