Joey Magidson
Yesterday, I went ahead and ranked what I felt were the best performances by none other than Nicolas Cage (here). This comes on the heels of my recent rave review of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, as well as one for Pig last year. Truly, we’re living in a great time to love Nic Cage. In honor of the former coming out shortly, there was an obvious Awards Radar Community Question to present to you all today. I’ve done my ranking, but what might all of yours be? Yes, we’re asking you all to choose or rank your favorite Cage turns.
Any answer is on the table, obviously, which is par for the course with our Community Question posts. Maybe you’re a fan of the more critically acclaimed stuff, like Adaptation, Leaving Las Vegas, or Pig? On the other hand, maybe you want the Cage that goes nuts in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Face/Off, or Mandy? There’s more than one Cage to choose from, and wherever you lean with him, you have ample choices to select from.
As a reminder, this was my Nicolas Cage top ten:
10. Joe
9. It Could Happen to You
8. Moonstruck
7. Face/Off
6. The Weather Man
5. Matchstick Men
4. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
3. Adaptation
2. Pig
1. Leaving Las Vegas
Now, it’s your turn. Where do you fall on Cage’s career? Are you with me on Leaving Las Vegas? Was Pig your pick? There are no wrong answers. So, chime in and we’ll be eager to see what you have to say. Plus, stay tuned for Cage’s latest, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, to hit theaters in a manner of days…
What is your favorite Nicolas Cage film? Let us know!
Pig is my favorite performance of his, but I also have to admit both National Treasure movies are my biggest guilty pleasures and I will always hope they make a third one.
Totally fair.
It’s hard to dispute your top three but I have to say I think Raising Arizona should definitely be regarded as another high point in his career.
Taking such a wild tonal swing away from their breakout sleeper hit Blood Simple was a pretty big gamble from the Coen Bros, and if it weren’t for Cage’s manic, endearing, totally uncynical commitment, it might not have worked out as well as it did. His delivery of the final voiceover narration was note-perfect:
“This whole dream, was it wishful thinking? Was I just fleeing reality like I know I’m liable to do? But me and Ed, we can be good too. And it seemed real. It seemed like us and it seemed like… well, our home. If not Arizona, then a land not too far away. Where all parents are strong and wise and capable and all children are happy and beloved.
I don’t know… maybe it was Utah.“
It’s definitely a Coen film I need to revisit again soon…
Favorite film is Raising Arizona, but my favorite performances is Pig.
Solid choices.
I was shocked Raising Arizona, Bad Lieutenant and Bringing Out the Dead didn’t make the list…also shocked how hard this was for me so that made me understand more why great choices didn’t make it. Really an amazing actor that has made deciding between a lot of apples and oranges as far as performances goes…just shows his versatility. Which for me makes a fun list…I had to go 20 deep. I have not seen Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. 3 through 9 for me are extremely tight and could be fluctuated at any other time I thought about this list.
Peggy Sue Got Married, Honeymoon in Vegas, The Rock, Face/Off, City of Angels and Family Man were also solid performances and also considered.
Strong list!