‘The Surfer’ Review – Cage Delivers Inspired Performance In Movie About More Than Surfing

Nicolas Cage goes to the beach to surf, and it goes about as you would expect in a Cage film. This is a ringing endorsement, by the way, for Cage’s latest movie, The Surfer. It is a psychological, semi-revenge story that unfolds crashingly, delivering surprises and an engrossing character story. Recently, Cage has been selecting roles that capture his on-screen presence but push him into new creative outlets. In yet another case, Cage shows he multitasks; better said, he can walk on the beaches and ride the waves. The Surfer is a darkly funny, at times poignant, and deftly topical film that allows Cage to deliver one of his best performances.

Set in a surfer’s paradise, on a magnificent strip of beach, a man (Nicolas Cage) returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood to surf with his son (Finn Little). But his desire to hit the waves is thwarted by a group of locals whose mantra is “Don’t live here, don’t surf here.” Humiliation turns into anger as the man is drawn into a conflict that keeps rising in concert with the summer’s punishing heat and pushes him to his breaking point. Writer Thomas Martin draws on personal anecdotes, crafting a story that is as much about male violence as it is a commentary on surfing communities around the globe.

Owning one’s domain is prevalent in the film. From the start, establishing these locals and laying claim to the local beach are sources of much of the film’s conflict. The early confrontation Cage’s character has with the local surfers, including the ring leader Scally (Julian McMahon), who is a working advertisement for toxic masculinity, sets the stage for the film’s story. On one level, this film is a simple revenge tale. Cage is desperate to gain beach access to recapture the nostalgia of his youth.

However, the film is wise to avoid falling down the rabbit hole of familiarity. It would have been easy to let Cage rift as a man losing his tenuous grasp on reality. They could have it spiral into a full-on brawl on the beach. Fortunately, the film does not waste Cage’s time or ours; instead, it uses this conflict to tell a deeper story. It avoids becoming a mere revenge fantasy. The story develops as a strategic commentary on toxic masculinity, fatherhood, and what it means to be a man. Cage gives a calm, but twitching performance until it is time to dial it up, and when he does, he is Cage at his Cage-est.

For the film’s first two acts, the locals torment Cage. First, they steal his surfboard, then Scally and his gang harass him. The tit-for-tat escalation continues to a fever pitch. At various points, we expect Cage to reach his breaking point and snap. There is an undercurrent that this film could become carnage candy, but it plays it smart again. We get the exploitation of male violence, but the film subverts our expectations. It forces us to reconcile our preconceived notions, putting the entire construct of male violence under the microscope. 

The surfer characters are like bulls in a china shop. Jugheads and characters in an inferior movie would become cannon fodder, yet there is a purpose here. Blatant toxicity is a point that contrasts with Cage. His character, cleverly referred to as ‘the surfer,’ is tempted to indulge in his basic instincts on more than one occasion. Throughout the film, the antics of the locals are chalked up to ‘boys being boys’ or, as one character refers to the matter, men are like an engine; they have to let a little steam out. We know little outside of some essential details about Cage’s characters, allowing him to exist as an insert for the film’s commentary. In addition, the deliberate attempts to construct surrealism with reality help enhance the idea of a man or (perhaps in general) men in crisis. 

The movie is unafraid to deconstruct the male ego and offers an answer to what it means to be a man in the 21st century. This question is further enhanced by the presence of a character known as the bum (Nic Cassim). Throughout the film, he appears as both a disruptor and a mirror image of Cage as he confronts his internal crisis. His jaded wisdom comes to a head at the film’s climax. His presence reinforces the commentary on this twisted and toxic brotherhood while instilling principles and basic humanity. 

The Surfer packs a lot of resonance in a short runtime, leaving much for the final act. Here, the ideas of nostalgia and manhood come into clarity. As much as the film uses surfing for its plotline and story beats, the idea serves as a metaphor. There is no perfect wave, let alone even one from memory. The ocean is forever changing; we, in this man, must react and change with the times. Perhaps on the nose, but the film never shies from driving home its point. All this is thanks to the many layers of Cage’s performance. 

In the end, for all of the thematic resonance and subtext, this is Cage’s show, and he rides this particular wave from start to finish. His character is the audience’s viewpoint into his world, and he brings us on this journey of humility and self-discovery. Another act might have overdone the humorous beats at the expense of the dramatics. Cage deftly straddles the line between campy and cool. All of this results in a complex yet poignant performance that leaves us breaking out in applause.  

The Surfer will debut in theaters nationwide on May 2, 2025, courtesy of Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.