‘Mandy’ Review: Nicolas Cage Dazzles in Best Film of the Year

Wow. This is going to be difficult because I feel like the craziness that is Mandy is something that needs to be experienced rather than talked about. If you’re unfamiliar with this movie and a fan of crazy, psychedelic thrillers, just stop reading and go check it out on VOD. If that’s not enough to convince you and you don’t mind getting a little bit spoiled, go ahead and continue reading.

Mandy is directed by Panos Cosmatos and is about weird, creepy cult people effing with Red Miller (Nicolas Cage) and Mandy (Andrea Riseborough). Though the premise is simple enough, the movie is anything but. The first thing we need to talk about is the lighting. Jesus Christ, the lighting in this movie is cool. I know the whole neon thing is starting to get overplayed a tad, but if you’re going to have it in your movie, you may as well go all out. The way the lighting and cinematography work in concert with the editing is seriously mesmerizing. Some of the visuals in this film are truly works of art. It was also really cool to see a matte painting towards the end of the film because you don’t get a lot of those these days. However, visuals are not the only elements where this movie succeeds. The performances from top to bottom are all excellent, but Nicolas Cage stands out with his best performances in years. Can we please put to rest the moronic notion that Nicolas Cage is a bad actor? You know what, I’ll double down and say that Nicolas Cage is a better actor than Leonardo DiCaprio or Tom Hanks. You can disagree with that, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re wrong. There’s a scene that involves a bathroom and a liquor bottle that should get Cage the Oscar this year.

I would also like to talk about the action because the trailer was a bit misleading. I wouldn’t call Mandy an action movie. It’s more horror-thriller than action, though there are some awesome action sequences towards the end.

I do have one negative that keeps Mandy from being a perfect movie and it’s towards the middle when Red Miller starts his revenge rampage. It happens really fast and it feels a little sloppily done. Also, I have heard complaints about some tonal inconsistencies that happen at several points in the movie. It goes from very serious to strangely hilarious at some key moments. I personally didn’t have a problem with this because Mandy is so bizarre to begin with that I think it fits. Overall, Mandy is seriously awesome and the best film of the year so far. It feels like a throwback to older films while also feeling new and fresh and that’s a hard thing to do. It’s a very niche film, but I happen to fall perfectly into the niche. May you ride eternal on the highways of Valhalla, Red Miller.

VERDICT: Shiny and Chrome

Note: If we must have a Mad Max movie that isn’t directed by George Miller, I nominate Panos Cosmatos.