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Nicolas Cage may be the optimal pick for a daring horror film focused on Jesus Christ, but not for the motivations some fans may think. Actually, Cage doesn't actually portray Jesus in The Carpenter’s Son: his role is listed merely as a craftsman. He is framed as a father figure in this story, working to keep his religious convictions as his son (played by the young actor), their teenage adopted son, starts to display supernatural abilities. Why it’s difficult to picture any other major actor in this role is that even as his character grows weighed down with various challenges, Cage himself looks almost moving convinced that the dark, somber little movie is worth his time.

Cage's Current Career Choices

Nicolas Cage has using that time more carefully recently. He continues to stars in more films than the majority of casual fans will ever see — for example, did you know that the actor has completed three distinct frontier films over the last few years? — however he also mixes in esteemed independent films for example Dream Scenario, Pig, and Longlegs. This new film appears to be in that category, in that it’s borderline horror, likely to stir debate, and takes a exaggerated premise quite seriously.

Movie's Premise and Execution

Unfortunately, filmmaker the director does not reward viewer engagement. The Carpenter’s Son opens in a compellingly nomadic setting, marketed as drawing from an apocryphal lost gospel concerning the youthful days of the messiah. The Carpenter, The Mother, and their son travel from place to place, anxious of faith-based hostility or doubt over their son's unusual abilities. “Trouble pursues us,” The Carpenter mournfully notes. That continues as dark forces target the household in their latest settlement, getting a jump-start with that well-known scriptural test for the youth.

Occasionally, the film resembles an Exorcist-style horror film, but none of the main figures are explicitly taken over. Instead, they are progressively isolated mutually, while these forces affect a nearby girl (the actress, credited as “The Stranger”) that the son connects to, and gives all unsettling premonitions of a grim future. Cage's role notably grapples with his role within the plot, sometimes scolding the boy he can’t fully understand.

Discussion and Caution

This material is apt to stir disagreement, and Nathan handles it with much delicacy — excessive, perhaps. The idea of a teenage boy dealing with his eventual sacrifice and tempted by dark influences is certainly scary, but Nathan could be wary of appearing sensational and eager to signal his goals, therefore he regularly falls back on darkly ominous filming. The roles continually reflect — FKA Twigs, who showed notable talent in a recent film update, surprisingly — surrenders her performance to her character's costume, sometimes broken up by some gruesome scary visuals.

The Star's Performance and Movie's Shortcomings

At the same time, the actor flirts with precisely the type of overacting that those who enjoy his campier roles might be looking for. An instance (also included) in promotional material where Cage erupts and shouts “I’ve lost my faith!” If that kind of theatrical release is included in your religious scary film, possibly a more openly absurd method would be more effective of his eagerness to go over the top if needed. On the other hand, the film is closer to the poorer straight-to-DVD productions Cage made during the last decade — excluding the campy action films so much as the dramas and paranormal movies that typically appear interesting, and often contain a few choice actor's highlights, but ultimately feel like, frankly, cheap home video fare.

Honestly, several of these, though not as grand, were more watchable in general. At this point I must break my own dogma, not religious but career-related: Years back, an admired senior urged me to banish descriptive terms like “monotonous” or “lifeless” from my reviewing language. These words express scant other than a personal and generically described restlessness, disengaging from the job of vividly conveying the thoughtful and emotional experience of watching a specific film. It's hard to communicate boredom without appearing dull yourself. It's just as unclear as calling a movie “engaging.” “Explain further,” that is.

But I must confess, I was bored throughout The Carpenter’s Son. To the movie’s non-exploitative credit, it is a devotional type of boredom, not for this movie is moralizing, but because it requires a kind of dutiful submission to view it. After a while early on, the film enters a repetitive rhythm of simmering distress, and does not