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Nicolas Cage may be the optimal pick for a audacious horror film focused on the biblical figure, however not for the causes certain viewers could guess. Truthfully, Cage does not even play Jesus in the new film: his role is referred to only as a craftsman. The actor is positioned as a father figure within this narrative, striving to uphold his religious convictions while the teenage character (played by Noah Jupe), their adolescent adopted son, begins to show divine powers. The reason it's hard to imagine any other major actor playing this part is that although the role is burdened with various challenges, the actor appears nearly emotionally certain that this dark, grim little movie is deserving of his effort.

Cage's Latest Projects

Nicolas Cage has spending those years more judiciously lately. He continues to stars in more movies than most casual fans could possibly view — as an illustration, did you know that the man has filmed several separate Westerns over the last few years? — yet he also mixes in esteemed critically acclaimed roles for example Dream Scenario, Pig, and a further title. This new film appears to be in that category, because it’s borderline horror, potentially provocative, and takes a campy-sounding description quite seriously.

Movie's Storyline and Execution

Unfortunately, filmmaker Lotfy Nathan does not justify the audience's focus. The film opens in a interestingly wandering setting, positioned as inspired by an unknown scripture regarding Christ’s childhood. Cage's character, The Mother, and the boy move constantly, anxious of faith-based hostility or distrust regarding The Boy’s mysterious gifts. “Trouble pursues us,” The Carpenter mournfully notes. It goes on as evil influences focus on the family at their new home, beginning with that familiar Biblical temptation for the youth.

Occasionally, the movie mirrors an demonic possession-type possession movie, though no one of the main figures are directly possessed. Rather, they grow increasingly alienated from one another, as these forces influence a nearby girl (the actress, credited as “The Stranger”) that the son bonds with, and gives everyone unsettling premonitions of a dark tomorrow. The Carpenter in particular struggles with his place in this story, at times scolding the son who mystifies him.

Discussion and Care

This material is apt to invite debate, and Nathan handles it with much sensitivity — excessive, maybe. The notion of a teenage boy dealing with his future martyrdom and tempted by mysterious forces is certainly frightening, but Nathan could be wary of seeming gratuitous and anxious to telegraph his goals, therefore he regularly falls back on dimly foreboding filming. The figures constantly ponder — the singer-actress, who showed real promise in a recent film update, surprisingly — yields her role to her character's costume, sometimes broken up by some gnarly horror imagery.

Cage's Performance and Film's Weaknesses

Meanwhile, the actor toy with exactly the kind of overacting that his ironic fans might be looking for. One scene (shown) in previews where he loses control and shouts “I’ve lost my faith!” When this sort of florid outburst is part of your religious scary film, perhaps a more openly absurd style would make better use of the actor's readiness to be extreme as required. Rather, the film is closer to the weaker straight-to-DVD films Cage made over the 2010s — excluding the campy action films so much as the dramas and ghost stories that typically appear interesting, and frequently include a few choice actor's highlights, but finally come across like, well, cheap home video fare.

Honestly, a number of those, while less ambitious, were more watchable as a whole. Here is where I must violate my personal rule, not religious but professional: Years back, a respected mentor persuaded me to remove words like “monotonous” or “lifeless” from my film-criticism vocabulary. These words convey little other than a individual and broadly stated impatience, avoiding the task of clearly expressing the thoughtful and emotional experience of viewing a particular movie. It's challenging to convey boredom without seeming uninteresting personally. It’s no more expressive as calling a movie “engaging.” “Explain further,” in other words.

However, I admit, I grew weary during much of The Carpenter’s Son. To the movie’s non-exploitative credit, it is a religious style of stultification, not because The Carpenter’s Son is preachy, but since it takes a kind of obedient endurance to watch it. Eventually in the beginning, the movie locks into a cyclic tempo of simmering anguish, and fails to