Member of a legendary family of artists that includes Carmine, Francis Ford and Sofia Coppola, Jason Schwartzman and Talia Shire, Nicolas Cage is one of the most prolific actors in Hollywood.
With more than 120 films under his belt, two premieres are coming in Argentina: the notable “The Man of Dreams” and the forgettable “Retirement Plan.”
Cage filmed with many of the greats: Coppola, Alan Parker, David Lynch, Joel and Ethan Coen, Martin Scorsese and Brian De Palma, to name a few.
Last January 7, Nicolas Cage turned 60 and “celebrated” it by announcing an imminent retirement : “I may have three or four more films left, I feel like I said what I had to say with cinema and took acting as far as I could.” “he told Vanity Fair magazine. Nobody believes too much in one of the most prolific performers of the last four decades (between leading roles and cameos for both film and television he already has almost 120 titles ), but he could surprise once again by fulfilling that promise.
“The street law”
Born in California as Nicolas Kim Coppola into a large and legendary family of artists that includes Carmine, Francis Ford and Sofia Coppola, Jason Schwartzman and Talia Shire, among several others, he debuted in 1981 under his real name Nicolas Coppola. , but shortly after he adopted the one that would be definitive: Nicolas Cage.
At less than 20 years old, he established himself in 1983 with Francis Ford Coppola as Smokey in “ Rumble Fish,” along with the then very young Mickey Rourke, Matt Dillon and Diane Lane. .
“Educating Arizona”
He then returned to be directed by his uncle in “Cotton Club” (1984), and “Peggy Sue, Her Past Awaits” (1986) , with Kathleen Turner as co-star.
Also during that decade of 1980 he was chosen by Alan Parker for “Wings of Liberty” (“Birdie”), by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen for “Educating Arizona” , along with Holly Hunter; and by Norman Jewison for “Moonspell,” alongside Cher.
In “Wild Heart”, with a sensual Laura Dern.
Already a star at a very young age, his status as a cult actor, however, would reach him in the early ’90s with an unleashed performance in the service of David Lynch: the Sailor of “Wild at Heart” alongside Laura Dern’s Lula and Willem Dafoe’s Bobby Peru.
He then alternated projects of very diverse dimensions and artistic results until at the 1996 Oscar ceremony he received the blessing of definitive prestige from his peers at the Hollywood Academy with the hitherto only award for Best Actor for the role of alcoholic screenwriter Ben Sanderson in “Goodbye Las Vegas” , a film by Mike Figgis with Elisabeth Shue and Julian Sands.
“Goodbye to Las Vegas”
But, almost as if it were a curse rather than a recognition, that Oscar functioned as a turning point in Cage’s career.
“Goodbye to Las Vegas”, where he falls in love with Elizabeth Sue.
After working for notable filmmakers such as John Woo in “Contracara” (1997) , in a tense duel with John Travolta; and Brian De Palma in “Snake Eyes” (1998) ; of being the ambulance driver in “Vidas al limit” / “Bringing Out the Dead” (1999), by Martin Scorsese; and getting an Oscar nomination for “The Orchid Thief” / “Adaptation.” (2002) , script by Charlie Kaufman directed by Spike Jonze in which he played another screenwriter in trouble alongside Tilda Swinton and Meryl Streep, his career entered a downward spiral of minor, mediocre work, with “autopilot” and a tendency to overacting in both comedy and action films, which made him the subject of memes in a spiral of decline that included up to five nominations for the Razzie “awards” for the worst performances each year.
Chameleon-like, unpredictable, resilient and disconcerting, owner of a tumultuous life with five marriages (his first two wives were Patricia Arquette and Lisa Marie Presley) and multimillion-dollar debts with the treasury that led him to bankruptcy , Cage always managed to recycle and reinvent himself when everyone They ended their career.
Thus, the actor recently exchanged ridicule for praise with the delirious “Mandy” (2018) , by Panos Cosmatos, alongside Andrea Riseborough; “Pig” (2021) , by Michael Sarnoski, in which he plays a truffle hunter who lives isolated in a cabin in the middle of an Oregon forest accompanied by his beloved pig; and “El peso del talent” / “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” (2022) , by Tom Gormican, in which he plays himself in a self-parody style.
Nicolas’s present
Cage model 2023: “The man of dreams”
And we come to 2023, the year in which he appeared in five leading roles such as those in “Butcher’s Crossing” , a western by Gabe Polsky; “Renfield: Vampire’s Assistant” , by Chris McKay; “Sympathy for the Devil” , by Yuval Adler; and two imminent premieres in Argentine cinemas such as the notable “The Man of Dreams” / “Dream Scenario” and the forgettable “Retirement Plan” , in addition to supporting roles such as “The Old Way”, and a cameo as the Superman from “The Flash” .
Francis Ford Coppola, through his social networks, congratulated Cage on several of his recent works: “My nephew Nicolas always gives a wonderful performance. His role in Michael Sarnoski’s ‘Pig’ and his most recent performance in Kristoffer Borgli’s ‘The Dream Man’ are beyond the praise of an older uncle.”
“The man dreams”
In “The Man of Dreams” Cage plays an academic and family man who experiences an unexpected turn in his life when he becomes the protagonist of the night visions of millions of strangers. This inexplicable phenomenon that initially gives him growing fame, over time becomes a cursed and increasingly terrifying fact, an accumulation of nightmarish situations that will make him a victim of hatred and social violence. Such a performance, full of nuances, versatility, talent, risk and audacity, was acclaimed after the world premiere of “The Man of Dreams” at the Toronto Festival on September 9 and later earned him a Globe nomination
However, on the 15th of that same month, “Retirement Plan” was released in theaters in the United States, an action comedy in which he plays a retired agent who must take care of a granddaughter he doesn’t even know . . It is a mediocre, clumsy and elementary film in which it does not shine in any shot.
That in the span of 6 days the two sides, the extremes of Cage have been seen , is part of his essence and even of his charm. The most talented actor and the most pitiful: take it or leave it.