Nicolas Cage’s Performance in Longlegs Shows the Reality of Serial Killers By Nicolas Cage’s performance in Osgood Perkins’ has drawn many different reactions. Some found it overbearing or too comedic. Others saw it as unnervingly memorable.
And some were disappointed there wasn’t more to it. Whatever way you look at it, it’s undeniably a Nicolas Cage performance. Perhaps one that best defines what that means.
The pre-release hype about the beloved actor playing a weirdo serial killer was bound to bring certain expectations. The public perception of what a Nicolas Cage performance is has shifted into a twisted caricature that often forgets the man is just as great at doing the understated and dark as he is the manic and silly. His showing as Longlegs is probably the best showcase for some time.
Despite a reputation for hamming it up, Cage is all about performance art. He has a distinct style that eschews the conveyor belt of pensive surliness or quiptastic bravado that constitutes a celebrated performance in modern cinema. In the quirks, you find the subtleties.
The way he shapes and manipulates his particular mannerisms and acting style in minute ways is undervalued because he doesn’t always pick the flavor of the month project to showcase that. Longlegs gives him the space to do that. With relatively little screen time, he creates a character who makes an impact in unexpected ways.
It’s a high-profile movie with arthouse sensibilities, which feels like the per.