By Robert Yaniz Jr.

DAY 4 OF THE 2018 HOLIDAY BINGE

Here’s your chance to go on a bloody, manic acid trip with Nicolas Cage.

THE HYPE

Soon after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2018, Mandy already began developing a following. An action-horror film that allows notorious bold actor Nicolas Cage the chance to deliver perhaps his most over-the-top performance yet feels specifically designed to become a cult classic. Panos Cosmatos’ film has earned critical acclaim for its trippy vision and its commitment to the pure insanity of the story at its center. But does Mandy deliver on the months of hype that precede it and meet the lofty expectations it set on the festival circuit?

THE STORY

Set in the 1980s (a fact only pertinent to its style), the film centers on Red (Cage) and Mandy (Andrea Riseborough), two lovers living a quiet life near the mountains. Yet, when a cult leader (Linus Roache) crosses their paths, their lives will never be the same. Needless to say, it all builds up to a vengeance-fueled quest for Red (literally, the film’s title card appears 75 minutes in). Viewers indeed get the chance to see Cage go for broke, but only the patient will make it there, as Mandy is infatuated with its own wacky mythos.

THE CAST

The reason to see Mandy isn’t Cosmatos’ steady directorial hand or the kinetic action. Rather, it’s Cage himself, whose performance is simultaneously heart-breaking, raw and ridiculous (“You ripped my shirt!”). It’s the kind of role that feels tailor-made for the actor’s skill set, and had Mandy been more evenly paced, we could have gotten even more of Cage uncaged. Still, Riseborough and Roache also squeeze in standout performances amid Cosmatos’ surrealistic take on what could have been a much less interesting tale in other hands.

THE PRODUCTION

Whether one loves or hates Mandy, Cosmatos is undeniably one of the rare filmmakers who lives up to the “visionary” tag attributed to him in the film’s marketing. The film feels like it slipped right out of someone’s nightmares and onto the screen (that’s a compliment). Terrifying, bizarre and even ethereal, Mandy is as delicately crafted a genre film as we’re likely to see for a long while. The entire team behind the film deserves to be proud of their strange creation, but the late Jóhann Jóhannsson’s score is among the best this year.

THE VERDICT

Despite its frustrating structure and more indulgent moments, Mandy is an unmitigated success as an artistic effort. This is the kind of film that, even if it doesn’t work for you personally, you can’t help but admire. Cosmatos, Cage and everyone in the cast and crew knew precisely what kind of deranged film they were making, as evidenced by that very last shot. If you’re just looking for an unhinged, chainsaw-wielding Cage, you’ll have plenty to enjoy, but if you’re a true student of cinema, you’ll find lots to dissect along the way.

Mandy stars Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache, Ned Dennehy, Olwen Fouéré, Richard Brake and Bill Duke and is directed by Panos Cosmatos.