‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ is a meta comedy that follows Nic Cage as he faces financial troubles, a slump in his career and a difficult family situation. Cage is offered to attend a fan’s birthday celebration for 1 million dollars, that he accepts, which takes an unexpected turn after the CIA gets involved.
The film opens on Cage meeting with David Gordon Green as they discuss a project that Cage believes will put him back on the map. Later that day, at his daughters birthday party, he finds out he was not cast for the role, leading him to cause a scene and put a strain on his relationship with his daughter.
The following day, Cage’s agent mentions the 1 million dollar offer to attend a fan’s, Javier Gutierrez’s, birthday party. Facing financial difficulties, Cage sets off to Mallorca to earn his keep. There, in the middle of an operation, a pair of CIA agents choose to track Cage as he goes to his fan’s compound, revealed to be a major arms dealer, possibly involved in the kidnapping of a politicians daughter during his re-election campaign.
At Javi’s compound, the two become fast friends, sharing in their passion for movies and the craft behind it. At the same time, the CIA agents task Cage with locating the missing girl, asking him to access the security cameras and scope out a hidden away room, turning up nothing. Cage and Javi start developing a movie idea together and eventually Javi flies in Cage’s daughter and ex-wife, feeling that he needs to resolve the issues between them, so that Cage can better focus on their project. Misunderstanding the gesture as a threat and getting an order from the agents, Cage plans to take Javi out, as at the same time, Javi is met by his cousin, Lucas, the real head of the arms dealing operations and told Cage is working for the CIA, and that he must kill him.
The two drive out to the cliffs intent on murdering the other, but end up confiding in each other and going on the run as Lucas’ men close in on them to ensure Cage is killed. In the meantime, Cage’s daughter is taken by Lucas, and the group decide to rescue her and the kidnapped girl, leading to an intense stand-off, a car chase and ultimately the successful resolution and safe return of the girls.
The film closes on Cage and Javi at the premiere of their film that Cage attends with his ex and daughter, later choosing to spend the rest of the evening with them at home, rather than at the premiere party.
‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ is a meta comedy that combines the trope of a well known actor portraying themselves and the increasingly more common idea of breaking down the 4th wall. For better or for worse, the film is peak commentary on the current state of cinema, as its protagonists contemplate developing their project throughout the feature, taking shots at how Hollywood is inclined to focus on lucrative investments and maximising its returns rather than concentrating on the artistic value and story of a film.
At times the sole focus of the feature is to denigrate the current state of the film industry, commenting that a project is unlikely to be a success if it’s not ‘Marvel’ or ‘Star Wars’, with one of the co-leads ironically being the masked face of the hit TV series, the ‘Mandalorian’. The film goes a step further in highlighting that a film needs a hook to pull in the audience, as it makes use of Cage and his star power to entice the viewing audience. Besides commenting on the necessities of a movie to succeed commercially in the current market and then making use of the tropes to attract viewers, ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ manages to create a not-so-serious tone and a light-hearted approach to laughing at itself and the industry. The cast of the film are all too aware of exactly the type of project they are a part of, and without undue concern for any backlash or criticism on its delivery, the film goes all out on the meta commentary whilst also enjoying itself and delivering a plethora of over the top comedic sequences.
The core of this film is Nic Cage and the relationship he shares with Pedro Pascal's Javi. The movie hinges on the actors delivery of a parody of himself. Cage is very aware of some of his most iconic performances and the praise, or sometimes criticism, that those performances have garnered, and he fully commits to embracing the somewhat erratic energy behind his most memorable work, delivering here a sometimes hammy, but always enjoyable watch. Besides allowing his fans to relive some of his highlights, Cage’s fictitious self is shown to be a hugely insecure and neurotic persona, showcasing his conflicting feelings towards his own career, through an imagined version Cage has of himself in the film – Nicky. Through Nicky, Cage is able to provide further insight into the anxiety that haunts him towards what his ultimate career goals should be and the level of narcissism that the actor has.
To complement Cage’s fictitious persona is Javi. Pascal’s approach to an admirer of Nic Cage as a star-struck mega-fan is entertaining and understandable, as initially Javi has a hard time containing himself around the actor and expresses genuine admiration for Cage’s work. Pascal's performance succeeds through the fact that the actor puts across a genuine admiration of the actor, praising Cage for entertaining so many through his work. As the two spend more time together, Pascal and Cage deliver an unrestrained and sincere connection, displaying genuine chemistry and a close friendship between the two. Due to the authenticity of the bond between the two characters, the comedic aspects of the film work very well and are enhanced through the duration of the feature as the two grow closer together.
‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ is peak meta-commentary on the film industry at present, taking shots at the creative process and the industry of film production in Hollywood. Besides the explicit jabs at the movie making process, and the development of Cage ad Javi’s screenplay, the film may seem a bit disjointed with an insane progression of events, however it is saved by the unparalleled chemistry between its two leads and the crazy antics the two go through, delivering a thoroughly delectable and insane trip of a movie.
Score: 4/4
Comentários