THE SURFER

Set in Australia, the surfer (Nicholas Cage) and his son (Finn Little) attempt to surf at a local beach. Cage is attempting to buy his childhood home on the beach and uses it as an opportunity to bond with his son. However, they're soon confronted by a group of locals who inform them of the rule: you don't live here, you don't surf here. The cult like group of surfers is lead by the charismatic Scally (Julian McMahon) who is always robed in red, reflecting more of a devilish than angelic character. Not one to give up so easily, Cage continuously has run-ins with the locals while attempting to finalize the purchase of the house. There's a lot under the surface of this film with themes of toxic masculinity, tribalism, and the treatment of others amongst more. Over the course of the film, Cage begins to have everything stripped away from him and with the heat and lack of water, begins to become delusional and starts to question what's real vs what's not. However, the film could have been trimmed down a little bit more as the repeating cycle of Cage vs the locals more than ran its course by the time the credits rolled. Had a little hint of POINT BREAK to it but not much. Compared to Cage's other recent hits, this is a disappointment. 5.5/10