Sympathy For The Devil is a thriller set in Las Vegas about an expectant father The Driver(Joel Kinnaman) who, on the way to the hospital while his wife is in labor, is accosted by a mysterious stranger The Passenger(Nicolas Cage) who takes him hostage and makes him drive off into the night.
Cage goes full cage and it's glorious really leaning into the bizarre look and ambiguity of the character to personify this otherworldly mystery man, is he a demon, the personification of vengeance or evil, is he some mob guy? Who knows! It's delicious. Kinnaman isn't as much of a presence and outside season 1 of The Killing he's never been great but he's decent here as the straight man and at the end is able to do some interesting stuff. The supporting cast are solid but small and ultimately this is a two-hander but with Cage going so all-out you could say its actually a one-hander which isn't a problem.
Visually the film is contained, by virtue of the script and presumably the budget, but this serves to create tension and build this sense of claustrophobia. The eerie, desolate, suburban Las Vegas they drive through is evocative and their various stops along the way serve to break up the car bits and gradually build to the climax, both in action and plot reveal, its simple and it works. Its a tight little film with a stupendous Cage and enough technical artistry to take it to the next level. It might be the latest in Cage's direct to VOD oeuvre but its a damn good one.
A good almost great version of Collateral meets History of Violence which one has to assume was the pitch.
Currently available to rent on most VOD platforms.
Rent It.
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