Following the critical acclaim it received out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, RLJE Films has now released the first trailer for “Mandy,” the vehement Nicolas Cage-led thriller from Italian-born director Panos Cosmatos. Amidst his generally considered meme-status in Hollywood, Nicolas Cage is often underestimated; the immediate write-off is an unfortunate oversight, to say the least, as Cage every so often puts his most passionate foot forward in his projects (for better or for worse). Cage’s seemingly inherent visceral nature is back on display in “Mandy,” which many from Sundance consider being his best work yet (including our own Russ Fischer).
Alongside Cage’s character Red, the film stars Andrea Riseborough as the titular Mandy. Together, Mandy and Red live a secluded life in a cozy lakeside home. Things inevitably become twisted when threatening cult leader Jeremiah Sand (Linus Roache) invades their home and ultimately abducts Mandy – sending Red on a crazed and exponentially manic journey.
Here’s the official synopsis:
The quiet life of devoted couple Red (Nicolas Cage) and Mandy (Andrea Riseborough) takes a dark and bizarre turn when a nightmarish cult and their maniacal leader (Linus Roache) seek to possess Mandy…body and soul. A shocking assault on the innocent pair leads to a spiraling, surreal, bloody rampage of all out, mind-altering vengeance.
In his Sundance review, our own Russ Fischer spoke to Cage’s relentlessness in the film: “Cage’s physically staggering, emotionally raw work in the back half is enough to generate a career’s worth of reputation in a single hour. He kicks and fights and contorts but really it’s a single long take that dominates the movie. In that 45 seconds or so – which feels like minutes on first viewing and goes by entirely too quickly on rewatch – Cage all but vomits his emotions into a small bathroom. In the context of an action/horror film you don’t expect to see a take so vulnerable it provokes nervous audience laughter, but that’s precisely what makes ‘Mandy’ stand out.”
Lastly, it seems only right to mention that the great Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson scored “Mandy,” which was one of his last compositions before the world lost his distinct aural footprint in February earlier this year. The Oscar-nominated composer is known for his incredible scores for “Arrival,” “Sicario,” “The Theory of Everything,” and “Prisoners.” Considering this, its safe to say that only greatness is expected from any title with a Jóhannsson stamp of approval.
From producers Nate Bolotin, Daniel Noah, Adrian Politowski, Josh C. Waller, and Elijah Wood, “Mandy” will hit theaters on September 14.