Nicolas Cage has had an interesting career hasn’t he? His list of roles stretches long and wide, starting with (apparently) Oscar worthy performances that devolved into lead roles in straight to DVD movies reeking with an artificiality akin to pesticides. Did anyone even notice when Between Worlds was released? Perhaps I’m being too judgmental. Perhaps I shouldn’t have gone into this movie expecting the worst (there’s something about Nicolas Cage in a leather jacket standing in front of flames that brings out the worst in me).
So we center on an out of luck trucker, who also might be off his rocker, just a little bit (Cage). Right from the getgo I couldn’thelp but smile. There is a certain type of magic that happens on-screen when a). Cage is dishing out all of his normal, abnormal character traits and mannerisms, and b). You put him in a titular role as a crazed, amphetamine chewing, trucker guy. The premise is interesting enough as well. A women with the ability to commune with the spirit world needs help in bringing her daughter back from a coma after a bike crash. However, Cage’s wife, who died some years back possess the daughters body. Then there is a lot of confusion, and unnecessary sex scenes.
If it sounds like it’s confusing, and a bit convoluted, that’s because it is. I think Maria Pulera was trying to push this low-budget movie in the direction of a more art house film (there are a few scenes and stylistic choices that grabbed my attention). Something like Mandy (a Nicolas Cage film of recent, that was actually pretty interesting). However what we get is a mess of a plot, with at times laughable dialogue, and subpar acting. That’s not to say I didn’t have a blast watching the movie. If you take a drink anytime Cage does something bizarre and or funny, you’ll be floored by fifteen minutes in. The point is the movie is terrible, no good and very bad. If you have friends, and alter your perception I couldn’t recommend it more as a comedy. Otherwise, the low-budget, style, acting, dialogue, and plot all make this an almost too-painful-to-watch movie.
