◎Dong Ming
When I first saw the poster of " The Unbearable Weight of a Genius ", it was easy to think of the " Instant Universe " starring Michelle Yeoh a few days ago. The two not only have design styles" Even the concept of deconstructing the "virtual" identity and the original emotional appeal are very similar. The latter's homophone title was even used to jokingly call the film "Dad's Multiverse", which seems to be the same. Quite apt.
From a former Oscar winner, Hollywood first-line superstar, to now the "King of Bad Movies" in everyone's eyes, Cage 's life has drawn a brilliant curve, and because of his "unreliable" character , no one knows whether this curve will "bottom out" one day. The script of "The Unbearable Weight of a Genius" tells the story of a washed-up Hollywood movie star who participated in the " meeting " due to a rich man's huge sum of money. This kind of favor transaction is not surprising in the entertainment industry. But because of Cage's "real appearance", it has more documentary analysis value.
What's interesting is that the person who plays opposite Cage in this film is one of the hottest actors in Hollywood today. 》The popular Pedro Pascal . Pascal, who is a bit younger than Cage, can really be regarded as a fan who "grew up watching Uncle Cage's movies". What he did for most of the film was not like a decisive Catalan boss, but more like a native movie fan whose IQ has declined. His unique "Top 3 Favorite Films" compares " Faces " and " Dr. Caligari's Cabin " with " Paddington Bear 2". It can be regarded as using the most honest side in exchange for A purest version of Cage. The openness between fans and idols is also the most subtle exploration in the film.
Just like most of Cage's film works are commercial films, this film "The Unbearable Weight of Genius" is also woven into a clichéd story frame of "an undercover agent destroys a gang". The structure is blunt and crude, and it is counterproductive. It turns into far-fetched comedy, and even if it is considered to be "anti-type" intentionally by the creator, the rhythm is not pleasing to the eye. But when those clumsy action scenes in the film were done by "Cage the actor" rather than "Cage the character", it made people feel a little more emotional, especially when he saw that he would wake up instantly just by saying "Action" , this kind of "laughing fruit" originating from the studio is actually a collective tribute to the film performers. What makes
even more vulgar than the "espionage genre" is the eternal emotional theme of Hollywood: the return of the family and the reconciliation of two generations, which has already been mentioned in the opening clip of " Sky Prison ". If "The Universe" is about the estrangement between mother and daughter in an Asian immigrant family due to culture and language, then "The Unbearable Weight of Genius" is about the huge gap between the public image and private identity of Hollywood celebrities, especially Cage. For a star who has experienced great ups and downs in finance and reputation, he has to give up more dignity and pride in his reconciliation with his daughter. Of course, just as the action scenes are ridiculous and unbelievable, the emotional scenes of the film are also unreal - the "real" Cage has no daughters (only two sons), and three of his five wives are Asian. His marriage, divorce and spouse selection standards are completely incomprehensible to outsiders, but one of his wives has the same occupation as in the movie, a makeup artist.
Speaking of which, compared to , Bruce Willis, , who made a lot of bad movies before his retirement, Cage has produced one or two eye-catching works from time to time in recent years, except for this "Genius Can't Withstand" "The Heavy", last year's "Pig", and 2018's " Mandy " are all independent works with a cult temperament. And just like Willis suffers from " aphasia " and accepts bad movies in order to save some support for his wife and children, Cage also has his own difficulties: due to squandering and failed investments, the actor who was once worth over 100 million The Hollywood star went bankrupt, and he took on those lousy movies just to fill the financial hole.
There have been rumors about Cage's poor financial philosophy and weird collecting tastes, such as spending 300,000 US dollars to buy a dinosaur skull (still stolen goods), 3.45 million to buy a notorious haunted house... Nowadays, these ridiculous collections and real estate All were auctioned, and Cage himself seemed to have awakened. There was a scene in "The Unbearable Weight of Genius" where he ridiculed himself: he was greatly moved when he saw Harvey's collection secret room. One of the sculptures showing two guns was obviously "Face", Cage's masterpiece at his peak. "How much did you spend to buy such an ugly sculpture?" Although he was disdainful, Cage was still prepared to buy it for three times the price, but was rejected by Harvey: "I'm sorry, Mr. Cage, this is not for sale. ! ”
This is the most touching scene in the entire film, which even brings tears to my eyes. It also conveys two levels of understanding: Hollywood’s big stars can all be remembered through commercial products, which Harvey devoted his heart to. In his "Hall of Valor", most of them are posters, props and derivatives obtained from purchases and auctions to express his obsession with Cage. This is also the main way for fans around the world to "support" their idols; but at the same time, for Ha For an avid fan like Wei, even if the real idol is right in front of his eyes, it is not the same as his "inner idol". That is to say, he has a strong will to "create gods", and even has the impulse and determination to transform imperfect stars into perfect "screen gods", so he wants to write a script for Cage to star and let Cage walk out of the movie. It's a low point, so it's not surprising that he refused the idol's request in person.
As for Cage himself, he spent 20,000 US dollars to buy an "ugly sculpture" of himself from a fan. It can be said that his old habit of "mindless collecting" has returned, but he is still remembering his highlight moments: Behind the poison beads in " Bravely Enter the Death Island ", the rabbit toys in "Air Prison", and the specially customized golden version of "Springfield Double Gun" in "Face Changing" is "I was really famous back then"!
It was really an era when Cage was half the star. As the "incognito" nephew of the great director Coppola , his acting career reached its peak with the 1995 " Leaving Las Vegas " and won the Oscar. With the help of the statuette, Cage became the "good-looking" star of many box office blockbusters. This peak period lasted for ten years. Until the " adapted screenplay ", " King of War " and " National Treasure " series after the new millennium, Cage's screen appeal was still there, even in the entire Hollywood. It's pretty good, and it's not an exaggeration to say "genius".
But then, Cage's vision for films, acting skills, box office, and personal life all declined. A large number of bad films exhausted the expectations of fans and discouraged directors and producers. Just as David Green was embarrassed when facing him in "The Unbearable Weight of Genius": "Nick, you are very good, and your previous works were also great, but unfortunately, I can't use you this time."
This is why There will be "two Cages" in the film. They represent the past and present, fiction and reality, as well as the separation between outsiders' eyes and self-reflection. They are like the existence of multiple universes, which cannot swallow each other and easily cause chaos. Unfortunately, this kind of confrontation in the film is still a bit superficial. Although the dialogue and style have the iconic "Cage-like crazy style", the conflict is not sharp enough and even somewhat unclear.
As for the action scene of rescuing the "daughter" in the second half of the film, it seemed too nonsensical and rushed, and the director also felt a little perfunctory because he failed to get to the bottom of the "essence of the star". It would be better to do it like "Mandy" The blood-spraying package is more enjoyable. Perhaps, for Cage, who is not yet 60 years old, it is too early to conclude his coffin. This "The Unbearable Weight of a Genius" is just an opportunity for fans to play tickets. If you can go crazy once, Pi A handful, a little more real, it’s good!
