The Essentials: Nicolas Cage’s Best Films

“Adaptation” (2002)
When some viewers claim they can’t stomach one Nicolas Cage performance, just how do you put out a movie with two of them? Well, back in 2002, Spike Jonze, hot off “Being John Malkovich,” his first collaboration with Charlie Kaufman, attempted just that. Based on Kaufman’s seemingly Kafka-esque endeavor to adapt Susan Orlean’s “The Orchid Thief,” “Adaptation” has Kaufman writing himself writing the script into the script. Did you get all that? In case that complicates things, Kaufman also creates a fictional twin brother, Donald Kaufman, whose dumbfounded idea for a thriller reaps the kind of success the glowering Charlie can only dream of. Now the kicker: Nicolas Cage plays both brothers. And you know what? It’s the kind of performance that few other actors could pull off. Though we know the actor is onscreen in both incarnations through technical trickery, Cage nevertheless makes us care for two disparate characters, nailing Charlie’s labored existential struggles and Donald’s mischievous, laidback existence. It may not be the best Cage performance, as he skews some of Kaufman’s more personal dialogue toward histrionics, but it’s definitely a keeper and bright spot in the dark ages of Cage’s 2000s oeuvre. It also lead to his second Oscar nomination for Best Actor. [B+]

“Raising Arizona” (1987)
It is not humanly possible to discuss the films of Nicolas Cage and not mention the 1987 Coen Brothers comedic masterpiece, “Raising Arizona,” which is akin to Robert De Niro’s “Raging Bull” or Marlon Brando’s “On The Waterfront” in its virtuosity and significance in the actor’s career. Cage plays H.I. McDonnough, a recidivist con trying to make a go of it at the straight life with his ex-cop wife (Holly Hunter), but things go awry when she cannot conceive, and they hatch an ill-conceived plan to steal a baby from a family that just had quintuplets and probably won’t notice one missing lil’ critter. While large credit is due to the gut-bustlingly funny Coen brothers dialogue — “Edwina’s insides were a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase” — there’s no doubt that Cage imbues every line with either the most nuanced subtlety or the most outrageously funny manic energy (the flick boasts perhaps the best exaggerated facial contortions of all time and Cage’s Woody Woodpecker-like hair is a comedic juggernaut unto itself). Ironically, the Coens and Cage butted heads throughout, and neither party enjoyed their experience. “Joel and Ethan have a very strong vision, and I’ve learned how difficult it is to accept another artist’s vision. They have an autocratic nature,” he said at the time and, of course, has never worked with them since. Regardless, it’s one of the funniest movies ever made, and Cage tour de force turn is a huge part of its success. [A+]

“Matchstick Men” (2003)
In Ridley Scott’s low-key crime drama, based on the Eric Garcia novel of the same name, Cage plays a nutty (what else) thief who is planning a long con with his partner (Sam Rockwell) while at the same time trying to start a relationship with his teenage daughter (an exceptionally good Alison Lohman). Unfortunately, this stylish little movie gets weighed down by an overly elaborate twist ending, but until then, the movie happily exists as an emotionally resonant genre piece. Cage never lets his penchant for show-off-y theatricality overshadow the interior complexity of the character, a man with a number of disorders who genuinely wants to see his life get back on track, and it’s this mentality that lends credence to the tired “one last job” conceit. And it’s because of Cage that the film’s final scenes pack such a surprisingly heartfelt punch. [B+]

“Snake Eyes” (1998)
From the film’s opening moments, a virtuoso “unbroken” shot that travels around an Atlantic City sports complex, Cage is turned all the way up to 11. And a half. But that’s okay. As a corrupt cop who is unwittingly brought into a conspiracy involving the assassination of the secretary of defense (at a boxing match, no less), he injects a “who cares” attitude into the whodunit. As it turns out, the first-scene exuberance is a precursor to a more somber and complicated performance, one in which the character’s inherent lack of morality is constantly at odds with his ability as a detective. An underrated, late-era Brian De Palma mini-masterpiece that was only marred by a last-minute decision to entirely remove a third-act action sequence set in a hurricane, it’s Cage at his mischievous best. For a movie called “Snake Eyes,” Cage positively slithers. [B+]