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Nicolas Cage could be the perfect choice for a daring scary movie about Jesus Christ, but not for the motivations many viewers might assume. Truthfully, the star doesn't actually act as the central religious figure in the new film: his role is credited simply as a craftsman. He is cast as the Joseph of this story, striving to uphold his religious convictions as the teenage character (played by the young actor), their teenage adopted son, starts to exhibit supernatural abilities. The explanation it’s difficult to envision any other prominent performer playing this part is that even as the figure is weighed down with various difficulties, the actor looks almost emotionally certain that the murky, bleak small film is deserving of his effort.

Cage's Current Career Choices

Nicolas Cage was using those years more carefully in recent years. He still makes additional projects than most regular audiences may ever watch — as an illustration, are you aware that the actor has made three separate Westerns recently? — yet he also includes prestige A24/Neon gigs like Dream Scenario, another notable movie, and a further title. The Carpenter’s Son seems like one of those, in that it’s not strictly scary, potentially provocative, and takes a exaggerated concept quite seriously.

Movie's Storyline and Execution

Unfortunately, filmmaker Lotfy Nathan does not justify viewer engagement. The film starts from a compellingly nomadic context, positioned as inspired by an unknown scripture concerning the youthful days of the messiah. Cage's character, The Mother, and their child relocate frequently, anxious of religious persecution or suspicion regarding The Boy’s strange powers. “Calamity follows us,” Cage sadly observes. That continues when evil influences target them at their new home, initiating on the well-known scriptural test for the youth.

Occasionally, the movie echoes an Exorcist-style supernatural thriller, but no one of the main figures are explicitly taken over. On the contrary, they are increasingly alienated mutually, while these forces affect a local young woman (Isla Johnston, listed as an outsider) that The Boy forms a relationship with, and gives everyone unsettling premonitions of a grim future. Cage's role in particular fights with his place in this story, sometimes chastising his child he doesn't completely grasp.

Debate and Care

The content is likely to invite debate, and Nathan treats it with much care — overly, possibly. The notion of a adolescent facing his eventual sacrifice and tempted by unknown powers is certainly terrifying, but Nathan could be hesitant regarding seeming gratuitous and eager to telegraph his intentions, thus he frequently retreats into dimly foreboding visuals. The figures constantly ponder — FKA Twigs, who demonstrated genuine potential in a recent film update, of all things — yields her acting to her religious attire, at times punctuated by a few disturbing frightening scenes.

Cage's Performance and Film's Weaknesses

At the same time, the actor dabbles in just the sort of exaggerated performance that his ironic fans might be looking for. There is a moment (shown) in the trailer where he erupts and shouts “My belief is broken!” Should such of theatrical release is included in a Jesus-themed horror movie, perhaps a more openly absurd style would make better use of Cage’s willingness to go over the top as required. Instead, the film echoes the less successful direct-to-video productions Cage made over the 2010s — excluding the campy action films so much as the dramas and paranormal movies that always sound promising, and often contain some select actor's highlights, but ultimately feel like, frankly, cheap home video fare.

Honestly, several of these, though not as grand, were easier to view as a whole. Here is where I have to disregard my personal rule, not faith-based but professional: Years back, a respected mentor persuaded me to remove descriptive terms like “tedious” or “uninteresting” from my film-criticism vocabulary. These words express scant except a personal and broadly stated lack of patience, disengaging from the duty of vividly conveying the mental and feeling of seeing a specific film. It's challenging to express boredom without sounding boring oneself. It’s no more expressive as calling a movie “notable.” “Elaborate,” in other words.

Yet, I acknowledge, I grew weary throughout The Carpenter’s Son. On the positive side, it is a churchy kind of boredom, not due to The Carpenter’s Son is moralizing, but because it requires a sort of obedient endurance to view it. After a while in the beginning, this feature settles into a monotonous pattern of simmering anguish, and does not