Nicolas Cage explains what makes a movie a masterpiece
Alongside appearing in some absolute stinkers, Nicolas Cage has also been a part of some stone-cold masterpieces. He won an Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas, lent his voice to the gorgeous Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and has left a trail of brilliant madness in his wake with the likes of Raising Arizona, Mandy, and Adaptation.
In 2023, Cage starred in Kristoffer Borgli’s Dream Scenario. He plays Paul Matthews, an ordinary man who suddenly becomes famous when he starts appearing in everyone’s dreams. A fascinating exploration of the human desire for recognition, the movie was duly praised by critics and viewers alike. Cage himself received plaudits for his remarkable subtle performance. ‘Subtle’ and ‘Nic Cage’ don’t always go together, so this was a pleasant surprise for all involved.
When chatting with Collider to promote the film, Cage not only outlined that he thought Dream Scenario was perfect but also gave his reasoning for why. “What do I mean by masterpiece?” he asked rhetorically. “Something which is the work of a craftsman that is so fine that nothing needs to be added, taken away, or altered. And I think that Kristoffer did something for his sophomore effort that is that. And that’s why I’m happy that, yeah, it came together the way it did.”
Cage, who has starred in everything from horrors to superhero flicks to rom-coms, highlighted how important he found it to keep contributing to smaller films. “What I wanna do is I wanna keep doing the independently spirited dramas,” he said. “I wanna keep making movies that I, as a student – I’m not a master, I’m a student – will learn something from, which explains my whole filmography, which is why I did the adventure films because I wanted to do something new and see if I could make it work. I don’t want to play it safe. But the independent drama has always been where one can really take the chances and find something original and try something, which may or may not work, but at least you’re trying to hit that mark.”
The film, distributed by A24, has garnered widespread praise, particularly for Nicolas Cage’s standout performance. His portrayal in the movie is often regarded as one of the most compelling of his career. Cage’s work earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe for ‘Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy’, though the award ultimately went to Paul Giamatti for his role in The Holdovers.
Cage’s definition of “masterpiece” offers an interesting take on film criticism. Should a film be judged based solely on what it’s trying to achieve? Or flatly against all of its other competitors? Can you honestly compare The Exorcist to Hot Fuzz to Terminator 2: Judgment Day? In a world where so-called ‘serious’ films dominate lists of the greatest movies ever made, perhaps Cage is onto something with his broader view of perfection.
Regardless of what audiences thought of Dream Scenario, it’s clear that the experience of working on it will stay with Cage for the rest of his career. If more actors were like him, focusing on smaller passion projects over big studio features, then the cinematic landscape would look very different.
