Who
knew being a hoodlum could have a negative impact on your family life? Evidently,
not Nic Cage, here playing recently released convict Frank Carver. He agreed to
do the time for his boss’s crime, but it turned out to be a much longer stretch
than he was promised. Now that he has been paroled for health reasons, he wants
a little payback before its too late in Shawn Ku’s A Score to Settle,
which opens today in New York.
Carver
is getting released because he has been diagnosed with sporadic terminal
insomnia. Unfortunately, he cannot watch his own film as a method of treatment.
Although the promised payoff came through, Carver is a little put off by the
way his former friends just abandoned and forgot about him. He wants vengeance,
but he also wants to repair his relationship with his semi-estranged son Joey.
Rather problematically, almost the entire first half of the film is dedicated
to their pere-fils drama. As a result, we have a chance to watch a version of Cage
we rarely get to see: his boring side.
Honestly,
this film just takes forever to get going. Yet, when it finally gets down to
business, it quickly runs off the rails with a series of crazy-as-a-loon
revelations. Of course, Cage is in his element at that point, especially when he
inexplicably launches into a loopy rendition of “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows.”
Frankly,
there is not enough Cage being Cage in Score to Settle. When it comes to
ripping off famous films, Utilitarian screenwriter John Stuart Newman makes
some bold choices, but it still doesn’t amount to much. The supporting cast does
not provide Cage much support either, especially the bland Noah Le Gros and
blander Karolina Wydra as Carver’s son and the high-class call-girl he takes a
shine to. However, it is sort of interesting to watch Benjamin Bratt portraying
Carver’s old and grizzled former colleague Q.
It
hard to fathom this is Ku’s next and latest film after Beautiful Boy,
released way back in 2011. His previous film had a great deal of merit, even
though it was as serious as a heart attack and depressing as a Democratic
Presidential Candidates’ debate. In contrast, Score to Settle is a tonal
mishmash that largely flubs its big twists. Not recommended (and remember, we
recommended Cage vehicles like Mandy, Mom and Dad, U.S.S. Indianapolis: Men of Courage, Dog Eat Dog, The Trust, and Pay the Ghost), A Score
to Settle opens today (8/2) in New York, at the Village East.
