Nothing changes the perception or prejudices that one may have about Nicolas Cage more than reading about his creative process that leads him to give such striking interpretations that many find extremely laughable. Potential memes. For the most famous interpreter of the Coppola family, acting has to be something challenging, alive, as creative as a marked camera movement.
This is why he mentions both kabuki art as inspiration. Although that may be perfectly a facade so as not to claim that it is also inspired by such conventional things as cartoons. At least he seems to want channel the energy of Woody Woodpecker in ‘Arizona Baby’, that jewel of the Coen brothers that we can recover on the Disney + platform.
Parenting as you can
After having managed to stand out from the hand of Sam Raimi and with their debut ‘Easy Blood’, the duo of filmmaker brothers was looking to do something completely different from the black thriller with which they were presented in society. they were looking for something lighter, more optimistic, more devilishwhich precisely brought together the influence of Tex Avery and something of his idolized Preston Sturges.
The result was this story of unlikely love and the search for fatherhood. HI is a charismatic criminal but trapped in a loop of misdeeds. Until he meets Edwina, played by Holly Hunter, a policewoman with whom he falls hopelessly in love. A passionate and requited love. Together they form a quite idyllic couple, although they are plagued by a big problem: they cannot have children.
How to solve such a serious problem? Well, stealing one of the children of the rich couple who appear on TV boasting of having had quintuplets. Total, for one less they will not regret. Is crazed proposal launches hilarious and spirited comedythat even non-fans like Pauline Kael had to admit had a rambunctious charm.
‘Arizona Baby’: rambunctious charm
That wacky comedy, or screwball, shows a rhythm devilish by the lively visual personality of the Coens and their staging. Although it does not collide with trying an interesting story about maturity, about pursuing an impossible or the strange phenomenon of love that leads you to commit misdeeds just to make someone else happy. Seen another way, it’s a ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ turned upside down.
It is difficult to think that the company of this, his second film and the first with a studio -although without shooting rockets with the budget-, would come to fruition without an actor who matches that energy of the authors.
And Cage gets it in spades, doing one of his most memorable works and overflowing with charisma when Hollywood still didn’t know what to do with it -although it didn’t always know what to do with it-. That perfect collaboration gives a fantastic movie like this.