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The Weather Man

Nicolas Cage is quite the Hollywood phenomenon. I like him. I do. I have since I first watched him in The Rock when I was 15 years old. Little did I know that he seamlessly transfers himself from large action movies (Con Air, Face/Off, National Treasure), to small artistic films (Adaptation, Bringing Out the Dead, Leaving Las Vegas), to family films(The Family Man, Honeymoon in Vegas, It Could Happen to You), and he even throws in some truly crazy performances (Raising Arizona, Wild at Heart, Vampire's Kiss). He is a good actor, well trained and capable. He performs well in all these different genres, ticking characters off like notches on his belt.

However, no matter how good he is in the film, some of his films are horrendous and painful to sit through. Three that I love are The Rock, Honeymoon in Vegas, and Face/Off. Three I would avoid ever watching again are 8 Millimeter, Windtalkers, and Snake Eyes. It has become impossible for me to judge his films based on his presence alone. I now choose his films based on concepts and surrounding elements, such as Director, Plot, Supporting Actors, Hype, Trailers, etc. I have been fooled before, when the trailers or titles are ambiguous, and I have been left quite unhappy in my theatre seat, $10 short in my wallet. I was excited for The Weather Man based on the trailer, its use of cool "mood" music (by Hans Zimmer and James S. Levine), the supporting actors, and the story. My excitement was put on hold when the film was put on hold this spring. But now it's out and I've seen it. So, where does this fit into the Nicolas Cage film catalogue?

The Weather Man is a good film. The man behind me in the theatre seconded my opinion by saying, "That was good," at the completion of the run. Though I say the film is good, I know it's not for everyone and I'll explain why. The trailer is ambiguous. It leaves you believing that this is an upbeat story of redemption and renewal. This is only somewhat true. David Spritz (Nicolas Cage) does find his way, but it is not easy, and the Hollywood payoffs don't come. The Weather Man is about tedium, awkwardness, pain, loss, entrapment, and love. When the film opens, David Spritz is a boy in a man's body, a boy searching for direction, love (of a companion and his Father), and purpose. He doesn't know or understand his ex-wife and children. His job is easy and inconsequential to the success of human-kind. David says, "I receive a large reward for basically zero effort and contribution;" just like a

child. He views himself as "fast food," a non-nutritional and waste able item; the same junk that is thrown at him by strangers as he walks the streets. He bickers with his ex-wife, Noreen (Hope Davis), throws snowballs at her to get her attention, and gets caught swearing at her by his disapproving Father, Robert Spritzel (Michael Caine). He exists in a world of missed opportunities and real insecurities. He has to learn through a process of growth how to deal with his ex-wife seeing someone new, his son having problems with drugs and his drug counselor, and his daughter having problems with weight issues and confidence, all while trying to figure himself out. The film moves slowly and focuses solely on David's journey. He struggles, and the audience struggles with him. Many members of the audience I sat with laughed at the most painful situations in the film, much the same as the British version of The Office. Growth is only possible through pain. If watching an interesting character go through a mid-life dramedy is interesting to you, then go see this film.

Nicolas Cage gives a wonderful performance as David Spritz, originally Spriztel, a local Chicago weatherman, with an estranged ex-wife and two children who don't know or understand him. He is distanced from everyone else in the film; he is a lone weatherman, moving with the wind (this isn't me making a weather analogy for the hell of it, the film makes plenty of its own). He is isolated, built of insecurities, obsessions, mistakes, and longing. His journey through the film is painful, but it is his absolutely necessary for his growth from boyhood to manhood. Cage has always used eccentricities and quirks in his roles, sometimes to the detriment of the characters. That is not the case here. David is a fully-formed human being and Cage is joyous to watch. Cage makes small choices, such as incorporating the movements of a weatherman into David's movements; the hands sway up and down, back and forth, his body sidesteps as if in front of a projection on a green screen. But, there are also moments when David sits absolutely still, slouched down, shoulders hunched. These quiet moments accentuate David's entrapment inside his mind. Cage delivers a great voice over throughout the film, and the reason for the v.o., I believe, is to show that David lives inside his mind, always talking to himself as life passes him by. In one amazing scene I'll refer to only as the "tartar sauce scene," the audience sees how detrimental David's "inner monologue" is to himself and his marriage. Throughout the film, his "inner monologue" reflects his growth and understanding as David sees more clearly his place in the world. Cage makes perfect transitions with David as he progresses.

What can one say of Michael

Caine? If you don't know Sir Michael Caine, then go rent any three movies made in the last thirty years, pick them at random from the shelves, blindfolded even, and he will be in one of them. He's a terrific actor, a professional film actor, one of the few remaining; p.s. not all of his films reflect his ability. In The Weather Man he delivers a subtle, yet powerful, performance. As David's father, the world-famous, Pulitzer-prize winning author, Robert Spritzel, he embodies the father the no son can live up to in decency, strength, and success. Robert is a walking collection of terrific lessons for life, including, "The harder thing to do and the right thing to do are usually the same thing," and, "Easy doesn't enter into grown-up life. To get anything of value you have to sacrifice." David seeks his approval and acceptance throughout the film, always failing at the most inopportune times. It is give and take between these two throughout the film; the relationship is authentic and poignant. In the end, Robert tells his son, "There's always looking after." Cage and Caine work wonderfully off of each other. As David's ex-wife, Noreen, Hope Davis, is a treat. She has chops as an actress and a breakout starring role awaits her in a script somewhere in Hollywood. As Noreen, she is pitch-perfect in every scene. The Spritz children, Shelly (Gemmenne de la Pena) and Mike (Nicholas Hoult), deliver well-rounded performances as well, as they struggle to know their Father and grow into adults.

There are classic scenes in this film that make you laugh with absolute hilarity as your heart breaks into pieces on the floor. Awkwardness is accentuated throughout, i.e. in one scene where David is asked by his Father to purchase a newspaper. David has one dollar and a quarter in his wallet, and upon attempting to purchase the paper in a vending machine with the quarter, the door slams shut on him. He walks to the Arby's nearby and attempts to cash his dollar in for four quarters. The teenage employee refuses, so David purchases a coffee for 72 cents, but it ends up costing 80 cents with tax. David returns to his Father, sans newspaper, but with coffee in hand. He cannot even fathom the words to explain what just happened. It is a moment of honesty. Most men know the awkwardness of never living up to their fathers, and this is another moment where David fails his father. These moments are special and they work so well because they are common place and ordinary occurrences. Other outstanding scenes take place throughout the film, to great effect.

The Director, Gore Verbinski, has been a wonderful Hollywood surprise in the past decade. I thought Mouse Hunt was great, and then came The

Ring, which was scary and well-done, and eventually the over-bloated, but entertaining, Pirates of the Caribbean. With The Weather Man, he hasn't taken a step back, but a step inward. Here he focuses on one man, one family, one city. It's a testament of skill that when a Verbinski film is over you do not immediately say, "That was a Gore Verbinski film." He adapts himself to the story and the subject, letting them lead his hand as director. That's admirable in a Hollywood where every young director is attempting to create a name for themselves by cramming in visual trickery and nonsense where it is not needed. What Verbinski does best is the simplest visual composition. He uses color and shading to wonderful effect, extracting every last ounce of meaning from each shot. His use of color in The Weather Man made the theatre feel colder than it was, to match the weather of a Chicago winter. He handles everything in the story perfectly; I have nothing but praise for his work on this film.

The cinematography and set/art direction are also superb. Nothing intrudes on the story, in fact, most sets help to bring about the isolation and mood of the scene, the cold winters of Chicago and New York. There is a very artistic opening to the film, a shot of the ice flow on the Chicago River. It represents so much for the character of David Spritz; the breaking up of life, the constant floating on a moving river, the frigidness of the city and of love. Moments like this occur throughout. The screenplay by Steve Conrad is touching and meaningful, there are many life lessons which fit into the story in an authentic way. Conrad hadn't written a feature film since 1993's Wrestling Ernest Hemingway, but partially based on the strength of his script for The Weather Man, he has been tapped to pen feature projects for Will Smith and Brad Pitt. His work on this film is thoughtful and compelling and I enjoyed the way in which he managed his characters.

I would recommend this film to anyone looking for an adult dramedy of a man struggling to find himself and his place in the world. The characters are interesting and very well-written, the directing is top notch, and the story is sad, but full of humor and realistic moments. This is a film for adults, the 'R'-rating is in place due to strong language, sexual language, and nudity. Also, a child under 16 years-old wouldn't understand the film and should therefore wait.

There is a lesson in life to be learned from this film, you just have to shut off your inner monologue and listen.

Movie Grade: B

About the Movie
Popular Chicago weatherman, Dave Spritz, has a shot at the big time when a national morning television show calls him

for an audition. Professionally, Dave is on the top of the world, but his personal life is in complete disarray. Dave’s painful divorce, his dad’s illness and trouble with his kids have him poised on the knife’s edge between stability and disaster. The harder he tries to control events, the more he finds life, like the weather, is completely unpredictable.