Italian
The surfer: Lorcan Finnegan’s latest film promises a cult classic
Lorcan Finnegan’s “The Surfer,” which recently screened at the Taormina Film Festival following its premiere at Cannes, is already generating buzz as one of the year’s potential cult films. This bizarro mix of Kafkaesque elements and Ozploitation, featuring a late-phase performance by Nicolas Cage, is a psycho-comedy that appears all the darker for its sunbaked setting. The Irish director, known for “Vivarium” and “Nocebo,” shared insights about the film with Variety, as the Mediterranean glittered tantalizingly in the distance.
A deep dive into surfing culture
When asked if he was familiar with surfing culture before making the film, Finnegan admitted, “I wouldn’t call myself a surfer, as I’m more of a skateboarder, and so I didn’t really know much about that culture. And this whole toxic masculinity stuff never really appealed to me, but I didn’t want to reject something just because I didn’t know about it. It’s an interesting challenge.”
Choosing Australia as the setting
Originally, the film was set to be shot in California, but Finnegan had a change of heart. “I just pictured Australia. I’d been out there a few times to shoot commercials and stuff. I also have a deep love of Australia New Wave films: ‘Wake in Fright,’ ‘The Long Weekend,’ and ‘Walkabout.’ Some of the best of those were directed by outsiders, like Ted Kotcheff, who directed ‘Wake in Fright,’ is Canadian, and Nic Roeg is obviously British. Peter Weir’s ‘The Last Wave,’ particularly the end, was also an influence on ‘The Surfer.’”
Nicolas Cage’s involvement
Nicolas Cage’s involvement in the film was serendipitous. “Once we decided the character was American, we thought of him at a very early stage. We had this window when we didn’t want it to be too hot, so prepping in the Australian spring to shoot just the beginning of the summer. His availability was good. We rolled the dice and sent him the script. Weirdly enough, he’d seen ‘Vivarium’ and ‘Nocebo’ and loved them. He read the script and said, ‘Oh, I get it. It’s Kafka.’ He completely connected with the material. We jumped on Zoom, had a chat, and got on great.”
Cage’s contributions to the film
Cage’s contributions to the film were invaluable. “Once he was on board, we did a lot of script revisions over several months. All of his ideas were brilliant. Small stuff, but really improving it and making it his. When we’re shooting, we got to know each other and we’re having a laugh together. We have a similar rhythm. We both like to work fast.”
The infamous rat scene
One of the film’s most talked-about scenes involves a dead rat. Finnegan shared the story behind it: “We do the scene where he kills the rat. Nic got very attached to the rat prop. The art department kept asking for it back and he’d say, ‘No, I want to keep it in my pocket.’ He was getting in character, and he was thinking he would keep it because it was the one little bit of food he has. Then what would he do with it? Eventually?”
Cage’s tribute to Billy Wilder
Cage’s creativity shone through in various scenes, including one where he rants about having a nice family dinner on the veranda with puttanesca pasta and clams. “We did a few takes where we cleared the entire space because we were shooting with an 8mm lens, super wide angle. And people had to hide in cars as the camera roamed around. He wasn’t even sure what he’d said after. He harnessed his inner shaman, and it was brilliant. Some amazing stuff came out.”
The snake incident
One of the more harrowing moments on set involved a snake. “We have a scene with the snake, where it goes across his hand. Nic’s familiar with reptiles, so he wanted to kind of handle it himself. But it was late at night, and it wasn’t really moving very energetically. I asked the handler – who’s right behind Nic – is there anything we can do to get it to move more. She said: ‘Tickle his tail.’ So Nic tickled the tail and the thing [mimes snake attack] and it drew blood! It was non-venomous. Nic was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ And the handler says, ‘Oh yeah, if you tickle them they can become quite aggressive and bite.’”
Future collaborations and projects
When asked if he would like to work with Cage again, Finnegan responded, “Yeah, hopefully. We’re looking at some things.” As for what’s next, Finnegan revealed, “We’re shooting a film in Greece next spring called ‘Goliath,’ which I’ve been developing for a few years. It’s a kind of dystopian fable set in the near future. It’s about creating monsters in order to start wars and steal natural resources. But told through the prism of fable.”
For those eager to catch a glimpse of “The Surfer,” you can watch the trailer and find more information at https://trailers.movieetv.com/search/the-surfer.
The journey of “The Surfer” from script to screen is a testament to the collaborative spirit of filmmaking and the unpredictable magic that can happen when creative minds like Lorcan Finnegan and Nicolas Cage come together. As the film continues to make waves at festivals, it’s clear that this sunbaked psycho-comedy is set to leave a lasting impression.
