Interview: Director Lorcan Finnegan on working with cinematic encyclopedia Nicolas Cage on The Surfer

For Lorcan Finnegan, The Surfer is the kind of film “which isn’t being made any more”. And that’s one of the reasons why he knew it was right up his street as soon as he read Thomas Martin’s script. The icing on the cake was getting the legend that is Nicolas Cage to play the title role in the film, which arrives this week in British and Irish cinemas.

Cage plays an unnamed man who, returning to an Australian beachside community after years away making money in America, finds the locals less than welcoming. Under pressure to close the deal on the house where he grew up, he’s driven off the beach and increasingly terrorised by a group of surfers who mercilessly target him, taking away everything he values and marking him out as an outsider – his immaculate car, his watch and his phone. In the searing heat and under attack from everybody and everything around him, he starts to lose his grip on reality.

MORE: READ OUR REVIEW OF THE SURFER HERE

In this exclusive interview, Finnegan reflects on directing Cage, describing him as an “encyclopedia of cinema” and explaining his detailed approach to acting. He also considers whether what is already an extreme story takes things too far, and his own reaction to the film achieving cult status.

Check out the full interview:

The Surfer opens in British and Irish cinemas on May 9th.

SUPPORT US!!! WE ARE A SMALL, INDEPENDENT FILM WEBSITE WITH NO BIG BACKERS, SO IF YOU LOVE OUR SITE AND OUR WRITERS, PLEASE CONSIDER HELPING US TO KEEP FILM JOURNALISM ALIVE!

About the Author

Freda Cooper

Editor

A lifelong movie fan and a film critic for over ten years, Freda’s natural habitat is the darkened rooms frequented by fellow cineastes. She can also be found asking questions of some of the biggest names in the business – from Cate Blanchett to Daniel Craig or Mike Leigh to Pete Docter – or crafting reviews for a number of sites and publications, including The People’s Movies. And listeners to BBC Local Radio can catch her views on the latest releases. She always – and probably always will – cite The Third Man as her favourite film of all time. Her top ten? That’s a moveable feast …..

Visit Website View All Posts