Mandy (2018) #473

“Mandy” is psychedelic mind trip of colors, false messiahs, drugs, bikers, and a Nicholas Cage that you’ve never seen before. The movie will leave you wondering what you just saw and additional viewings may not help answer any questions, although the film will still be fascinating. It’s a unique film that caught the attention of many and currently holds a 91% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes 

There is no better way to describe Nicolas Cage’s performance in “Mandy” as anything other than elemental; he is a force of pure energy. He is finally able to tap into whatever zone he enters mentally when he steps in front of a camera now days and completely let go. There are moments where he is allowed to be calm and reflective and other times where he literally gets to scream and let all of his rage and anguish flow. No one ever saw this performance coming and those who haven’t, prepare yourselves for a brand new kind of Nicolas Cage.

The film’s story is nice and simple, which allows the events that take place to have their own weight and importance in each scene. Red and Mandy live a simple, quiet life in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Red works as a logger and Mandy works as a cashier at a gas station. They have deep philosophical conversations that lead you to believe that they are both recovering from past traumas. Everything is going fine until one day when a van drives by Mandy and one of the occupants, Jeremiah Sand, sees her and becomes obsessed. Jeremiah happens to be the leader of a hippie cult that calls themselves The Children of the New Dawn, and Jeremiah truly believes that what he wants is his with the permission from god himself. He has members of his cult kidnap her, which begins a violent, manic turn of events as Red seeks vengeance and does not allow anything to get in his way.

One thing that makes this movie so odd and yet wonderful is that you have no idea what is supernatural and what isn’t. Is Red merely a man seeking revenge or is he some kind of immortal? Are the bikers really just mind fried junkies or actual demons? What other atrocities have the Children committed to satisfy Jeremiah? There are no back stories save one, and that teases the audience in the best way in this film. What I do know is thaT this movie will leave a little imprint scarred on your brain that reads “Mandy and Red we’re here”.