Dying of the Light (2014)

Simplistic, one-dimensional thriller that was disowned by writer/director Paul Schrader and some of the cast. 

Nicolas Cage plays a CIA man intent on revenge after he was tortured by a terrorist 22 years previously. The unusual twist is that he is suffering from a form of dementia, which affects not only his memory, but also his moods and behaviour.

It has a low-budget feel and there’s very little action. It seems like a cut-price attempt to make a Jason Bourne film, but without Paul Greengrass’s directorial energy and skill. 

The dementia angle is surprisingly low-key in the plot. I was expecting it to be used as a rationale for all sorts of odd outbursts from Cage.

The Weatherman (2005)

Extremely downbeat drama with flashes of comedy. 

Nicolas Cage plays a TV weatherman having problems with his dying father (Michael Caine), estranged wife (Hope Davis) and unhappy children. He’s also having a sort of midlife crisis, and members of the public who recognise him keep throwing junk food at him. 

It’s whimsical and engaging but you wish it was funnier. Michael Caine’s dodgy American accent is a distraction. Cage and Davis are both excellent, however, and the film gains gravitas as it progresses. 

It’s a deeply sad story. Cage’s character seems such a nice guy that you’re completely on his side even as everything seems to go wrong around him.

It Could Happen to You (1994)

Highly unusual and enjoyable romantic comedy drama. A New York cop called Charlie (Nic Cage) wins the lottery and – honouring a promise – donates half of the money to a waitress called Yvonne (Bridget Fonda) who he’d never met before. 

As with A Simple Plan, in which Fonda also featured, it explores what happens to poor people who suddenly have money. The twist this time is that Charlie and Yvonne are such kind people that – unlike their selfish spouses – they cannot be corrupted by their windfall. 

The big flaw is Rosie Perez gratingly hamming it up as Charlie’s wife Muriel. She’s almost unbearable to watch. The character is clearly meant to be annoying, but maybe they took it too far. Cage and Fonda, however, are both tremendous. There’s great chemistry between them, and their gentle romance is sweet and charming. 

All in all, it's refreshingly different.

Lord of War (2005)

Written, produced, and directed by Andrew Niccol, this is a superb crime drama with flashes of black comedy. 

Nicolas Cage plays Yuri Orlov, an arms dealer who becomes hugely successful while turning a blind eye to the damage caused by the weapons he sells. He has a cocaine-addicted brother (Jared Leto) and a fashion-model wife (Bridget Moynahan). Meanwhile, he is being pursued by Interpol agent Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke).

The deadpan, almost satirical quality gives the subject matter even greater gravitas. 

There’s a remarkable opening sequence filmed from the perspective of a bullet.

Face/Off (1997)

Absurd body-swap action-thriller directed by John Woo and incorporating elements of sci-fi and horror. 

A criminal (Nic Cage) and an FBI agent (John Travolta) have their faces switched with the use of pioneering technology. Meanwhile, the criminal has planted a bomb somewhere in Los Angeles. 

Cartoonish and unbelievable, Face/Off ends up being possibly the strangest film I’ve ever seen. Cage plays it like a pantomime villain, hamming it up so much that you realise the film is nearly a comedy – and would perhaps have worked better that way. On the plus side, the action sequence involving speedboats is one of the best I’ve ever seen. 

The film doesn't really bother to explore the complex identity questions it hints at: are we "ourselves" (with a consistent being at the core) or are we merely what we look like? It's so ridiculous that it takes cinema to a different level where different rules apply. Forget logic. It’s a thrilling, farcical mess that somehow works – despite Travolta’s creepy tic of touching the face of anyone he meets.

Windtalkers (2002)

Nicolas Cage stars as a battle-damaged US Marine tasked with protecting a Navajo code talker (Adam Beach) during the conflict between the Americans and Japanese at Saipan during World War II. John Woo directs, and Christian Slater, Mark Ruffalo and Roger Willie boost a strong cast. 

It’s a violent and bloody drama that occasionally seems trashy (I would have ditched the slow-motion shots and intrusive music), but gains depth from focusing on strong characters and introducing some philosophical and ethical questions. 

Cage is highly watchable, as always. He just “has it” – whatever “it” is. 

Surprisingly, the film lost $38 million and received mixed reviews.

Raising Arizona (1987)

Unusual comedy drama about a couple who kidnap a quintuplet.

Beneath the slapstick humour there’s a real tragedy about a desperate, childless pair and the lengths they will go to to make a family.

Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter are superb in the key roles. You feel Hunter's longing and completely identify with her, despite the criminality of their actions. It’s just a shame that the usual Coen brothers grotesques appear (John Goodman features as an escaped convict), turning this into a sort of farcical black comedy and robbing it of poignancy.

Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)

Remake of the bizarre 1974 film by H. B. Halicki, directed by Dominic Sena. 

Nicolas Cage plays Memphis Raines, who has to save his brother Kip (Giovanni Ribisi) from dangerous gangsters by stealing 50 cars in one night. He’s helped by his old criminal pals (who of course are all good guys really) and his old flame (an awkwardly awful Angelina Jolie). 

It’s extremely silly, but – unlike the original – it has a proper plot and characters with motivations and interactions, even if those characters (like villain Christopher Eccleston) are ridiculous. There’s even a script, albeit one that might have been written by a 12-year-old boy. 

The lighting is conspicuously styled with lots of blue and yellow shades, and while that might be atmospheric it makes the film less “realistic”. The original looked far more real, mainly because it was built around actual footage of real situations. 

What holds it all together and makes it worth seeing (once) is Nicolas Cage, who has a bottom-line charisma and presence.

Snake Eyes (1998)

Superb conspiracy thriller directed by Brian De Palma. 

Nicolas Cage stars as a crooked detective at an Atlantic City boxing match when an assassination of the Defence Secretary takes place. He’s there with his best friend – a U.S. Navy Commander (played by Gary Sinise), who knows more about the killing than he initially lets on. Carla Gugino plays an analyst who gets mixed up in the drama. 

It’s brilliantly and flamboyantly directed, from the long, uninterrupted opening shot to the overhead views looking down into the hotel rooms. It’s flashily done, but never at the expense of lucid storytelling. The multiple viewpoint shots used to revisit the crime scene and reveal what really happened were also a nice touch. 

Cage is incredibly magnetic and hugely watchable. There’s so much going on in every moment of his performance that it's really quite remarkable.

Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

Adaptation of John O’Brien’s novel, written and directed by Mike Figgis. 

Nicolas Cage is perfectly cast as an alcoholic who leaves Hollywood and travels to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. He meets a prostitute (Elisabeth Shue), who is also at a low ebb. (It certainly isn’t Pretty Woman.) 

The film suggests the possibility that the couple might somehow save each other from their fates, but it’s also intelligent enough not to present any easy solutions. It’s harrowing and heartbreaking to watch the situation unfold.

Cage and Shue are both stunning. I was completely convinced by them, together and apart. Their relationship is complex but believable, and the film follows it through to its logical conclusion without sentimentality or compromise.

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)

Funny and moving drama by Francis Ford Coppola. Peggy Sue (Kathleen Turner) attends a high school reunion and is dismayed when her estranged husband Charlie (Nicolas Cage) unexpectedly shows up. She faints...and wakes up in 1960 – 25 years in the past. 

Trying to come to terms with her bizarre new reality, she spends a few days in her childhood world, with her family and school friends, and faces some fundamental dilemmas. Can she change her life and avoid the mistakes she knows she is destined to make? Should she break up with Charlie, who seems to love her so much but who will later betray her? What can she do differently now that she has all the knowledge and wisdom of her 1985 self and perspective on what really matters? The film explores these questions in a way that’s always humorous and often profound.

The 1980s-to-1950s/60s time-travel plot gives this plenty in common with Back to the Future (1985), but I like the fact that this film doesn’t bother with the technical “rules” about changing the future by interfering with the past. Quite the opposite: at one point, Peggy Sue gives Charlie the lyrics to a song she says she wrote. It turns out to be “She Loves You” by The Beatles (which would be a hit in 1963). 

Given such a warm and intelligent script, Kathleen Turner gives the performance of a lifetime, perfectly conveying all the excitement and confusion of what she’s going through. Nicolas Cage is extremely charming, as the role demands, and he has a strange, goofy appeal that’s a result of his huge charisma. 

It’s incredibly romantic, but that romance is all the deeper and more affecting because of the interwoven threads of hope and regret that run through it.

City of Angels (1998)

A remarkable romantic drama. Nicolas Cage is an angel, who guides the dying to heaven. In a Los Angeles hospital, he meets a human doctor (Meg Ryan) and they fall in love. He then has to decide whether to give up eternal life and become human in order to be with her.

It’s loosely based on Wings of Desire (1987), but the theme of interspecies love reminds me a little of the mermaid saga Splash.

It’s subtle and nuanced. There’s something very pure and focused about the way it primarily deals with two characters and excludes sub-plots and other distractions.

Cage is perfect as an angel discovering what it is to love, possessing all the calm intensity you would expect of a supernatural being. Ryan is well-cast, too, so you can really believe in their romance.

The film excels in exploring the sensual qualities of pleasure and pain that angels are denied. The ending is satisfyingly not what you expect, and it’s moving without turning into sentimental slosh.

Moonstruck (1987)

Quirky romantic comedy starring Cher as an Italian-American widow who falls for her fiancé’s troubled, opera-loving brother (Nicolas Cage). It works like a play, with elements of farce and drama as a family finds itself tangled up in various relationship complications. Cher is fantastic as a disillusioned woman in her late thirties who suddenly remembers how to live and love. Olympia Dukakis is perfectly cast as her wise and weary mother, who finds herself on an unexpected date with Frasier actor John Mahoney. Cage is intense and charismatic. There’s gentle wit and some laugh-out-loud moments, plus a great soundtrack featuring Dean Martin, Vikki Carr and Puccini. The film avoids the clichés and pitfalls of less sophisticated rom-coms and instead offers something eccentric and distinctive.