SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL | ©2023 RLJE Films

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Joel Kinnaman
Writer: Luke Paradise
Director: Yuval Adler
Distributor: RLJE Films
Release Date: July 28, 2023

In SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL, Nicolas Cage, one of the film’s producers, plays the unnamed Passenger. The Passenger is one of only two main characters in a thriller that takes place largely in a car.

Cage is onscreen for most of the movie, giving a performance that can be objectively described as intense, even by his standards. Without much around him that’s complicated or flashy, the performance seems larger than it might in another context.

Despite the possibilities suggested by the title, SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL has no supernatural elements (or references to the Rolling Stones). It begins with a little boy looking at sonogram pictures. We learn that he had a sister who did not survive birth, but now mom Maggie is about to have another baby.

The little boy’s dad, David Chamberlain (Joel Kinnaman), our other protagonist, is surprised his son’s uncle mentioned the earlier stillbirth. David tells his little boy not tell his mom that he knows about the baby. The child says keeping secrets is bad. David says some secrets are good, which constitutes heavy foreshadowing.

David drops his young son off with his wife’s mom, and then heads to the hospital, where Maggie is in labor. He pulls into the hospital parking lot – and Cage’s character, with dyed-red hair but a dark beard, and brandishing a gun, gets into the back seat.

David is flabbergasted and terrified. His passenger demands that David exit the parking lot, drive around the Las Vegas strip, and then make some turns.

David, naturally, is looking for a way to escape this maniac. He has a few good ideas, but his passenger anticipates these. He also has very specific reasons for what he’s doing.

The script by Luke Paradise states one of its intentions in the title. It asks big questions about retribution and redemption, but they are stated in such big ways that it’s hard to invest emotionally.

Something fails to happen early on that tips us in on what may be happening. David doesn’t ask a question that should occur to him and will occur to us. Since there’s no story reason for him not to ask, we quickly wonder if the meta reason is that the movie doesn’t want to give the answer away. Then we speculate as to whether the omission is a clue, or the filmmakers thinking we won’t notice.

Later on, when we have much more clarity, we get a back story monologue that has elements that don’t quite add up. Consequently, we wind up spending a lot of time in our own minds rather than fully engaged with the action.

Considering how much time we spend in the car, director Yuval Adler manages to create a respectable visual flow. In the sequences outside, including a doozy in a diner, there are some fairly engaging, well-staged fights.

Kinnaman gives David a likable presence and a thoughtful stillness that are both suited to his role. He’s playing a bit larger than he usually does, as that’s what’s called for in this project.

There’s a sense in SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL that the film wants to say something, but we get tripped up by details. Also, for better or worse, the main reason to watch is Cage as a very angry man. Nobody else would or could do it like this.

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