This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Sympathy for the Devil is a thriller centered around a man (Joel Kinnaman) who has a mysterious, dangerous stranger (Nicolas Cage) enter his car and is forced to drive for him. All while his wife is in labor, Kinnaman is led through a night of twists and turns.
This movie feels flat to me. I’ve only seen Kinnaman in the Suicide Squad movies, and this is not a good third movie to see him in. His line delivery is mostly flat, and he seems to be disinterested in the story. Unfortunately, it made me overall disinterested in the story as well.
Outside of him and Cage, there aren’t any other characters in this movie so a lackluster performance by anyone can sink the ship. And boy did it.
At this point in Cage’s career, he’s been dialing up his patented unhinged performances to a new level. Here is no different, and it might be the movie’s saving grace. He’s sassy, he’s sadistic, he’s just an overall prick, but it’s enjoyable. Maybe because it’s due to the lack of emotion anywhere else in the movie, but he steals every scene he’s in.
But I’ll be honest, I never was super engaged in the plot of Sympathy for the Devil. Even after the movie immediately opens with dialogue about miscarriage and Cage makes an entrance only, he can pull off. But this story was nothing special. I’ve seen the cat and mouse game where no one is ever innocent done before and done better. The big twist at the end did nothing for me when I figured it was the way the film would end.
Final Thoughts
I had no intention of watching this Sympathy for the Devil in all honesty. It wasn’t on my radar at all. After seeing this, I feel no different. I respect Nicolas Cage’s performance, as always, but I don’t think I’ll return to this one in a while, if at all.
2/5
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I've always been a movie fan, but I first got big into cinema watching Whiplash when I was younger. That movie led to a greater appreciation of films and got me to dive into the medium. My favorite genre is horror movies, but I’ll always have a secret soft spot for rom coms and musicals. When I'm not podcasting or watching movies, I love working out and going hiking, and I currently work in business analytics with the degree I got from Western New England University.
MY FAVORITE MOVIES: Good Will Hunting, Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse, Whiplash, Moneyball, Top Gun: Maverick