Pick of the week
The Surfer
Lorcan Finnegan’s sunburnt psychological thriller is an electrifying throwback to Australian cinema’s new wave of the 70s and its studies in toxic masculinity. Nicolas Cage is almost too perfectly cast as “the Surfer”, a father hoping to introduce his teenage son to his childhood seaside home and ride some waves. However, a gang of larrikins led by Julian McMahon’s smug Scally deem Luna Bay a locals-only venue – and will do anything to stop his attempts to surf there. This brightly lit but darkly menacing film grows increasingly hallucinatory and nightmarish as the Surfer is stripped of his money, phone, food, car, even his board. And Cage on the edge is, as always, a magnetic watch.
Friday 22 August, 7.25am, 12.35pm, 8pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
