‘MATCHSTICK MEN’ SHOWS CAGE’S ABILITIES

 

by: Josh Marks

 

 

 

In the movie Adaptation Nicolas Cage plays the duel roles of Charlie Kaufman and his fictional twin brother Donald.  Charlie is a painfully shy screenwriter while Donald is confident and gets what he wants.  In Matchstick Men, Cage does another amazing acting job playing two personality types of the same person. 

 

When Roy Waller doesn’t take his pills he is a neurotic mess, suffering from some form of obsessive-compulsive disorder.  He has the cleanest house in Los Angeles, just don’t drop a breadcrumb or watch out.  Did I mention that Roy is also a smooth talking con artist as well?

 

He and his partner Frank Mercer (Sam Rockwell) spend their workdays scamming people out of their money.  Roy is very good at his job but his personal life is a wreck because he has run out of pills and can’t find his doctor. He seeks out the help of a psychologist (Bruce Altman). 

 

Through his therapy it is revealed that Roy has a teenage daughter that he has never seen.  He arranges to meet Angela (Alison Lohman) and when he does it changes his life.  He establishes a relationship with her and she moves in with him.  Unfortunately, the best times they have together are when Roy is teaching Angela the tricks of his criminal trade. 

 

The plot thickens but I don’t want to give away too much.  The ending was a little disappointing, but the rest of the movie made up for it.  This is a quality film from director Ridley Scott with an interesting story.

 

The most interesting part of the movie is watching Nicolas Cage really get into his role and then watching the different personalities of his character come out.  It is great to see Cage given parts that let us see his full range of acting abilities.