2008 Woodie Awards
Movie Review: "The Weatherman"
'Weather' unpredictable
By: Amy Swanson
Issue date: 11/3/05 Section: Culture
"The Weatherman" opened nationwide Oct. 28, starring Nicolas Cage as David Spritz, a Chicago television weatherman wealthy in life, or so it seems.
David lives his life constantly teetering between failure and success. From the outside it seems he has the perfect family and a perfect job but, of course, life never trails too far behind. Nicolas Cage gives a dynamic performance as a man forced to come to terms with his life after he learns his famous, Pulitzer Prize-winning father, Robert Spritz, played by the always classic Michael Caine ("Batman Begins," "The Cider House Rules,") is gravely sick.
The movie is quite slow at times and often seems there might be a huge climax or character explosion, but the plot simply hangs on the brink. The anti-climatic nature of the film is refreshingly satisfying and gives the movie an indie quality.
David lives his life with personal unfulfillment racked up through years of disappointing those around him - his wife, kids, father and even his viewing audience. One of the more entertaining aspects of the movie is seeing David annihilated with fast food by disgruntled and demeaning viewers from time to time on the streets of Chicago.
With the news of his father's illness, David vows to rehabilitate himself and take ownership for his participation in the unraveling of these relationships. Unfortunately, he is forced to put himself on a deadline due to his father's deterioration. He's a man running out of time to prove his worth to his family and himself.
But life happens. His father, though dying, is focused on sending every possible criticism his way, only making David feel pathetic and worthless. His children, Shelly (Gemmenne de la Pena) and Mike (Nicholas Hoult), are extremely troubled as well. Shelly is 12 years old, obese and recently took up smoking. Mike has just finished rehab for marijuana and one of his male counselors is beginning to spend a little too much time with him. David finds all of this out, much to his own surprise, and attempts to deal with the growing number of family issues through his own fatherly inhibitions, which aren't very good.
David lives his life constantly teetering between failure and success. From the outside it seems he has the perfect family and a perfect job but, of course, life never trails too far behind. Nicolas Cage gives a dynamic performance as a man forced to come to terms with his life after he learns his famous, Pulitzer Prize-winning father, Robert Spritz, played by the always classic Michael Caine ("Batman Begins," "The Cider House Rules,") is gravely sick.
The movie is quite slow at times and often seems there might be a huge climax or character explosion, but the plot simply hangs on the brink. The anti-climatic nature of the film is refreshingly satisfying and gives the movie an indie quality.
David lives his life with personal unfulfillment racked up through years of disappointing those around him - his wife, kids, father and even his viewing audience. One of the more entertaining aspects of the movie is seeing David annihilated with fast food by disgruntled and demeaning viewers from time to time on the streets of Chicago.
With the news of his father's illness, David vows to rehabilitate himself and take ownership for his participation in the unraveling of these relationships. Unfortunately, he is forced to put himself on a deadline due to his father's deterioration. He's a man running out of time to prove his worth to his family and himself.
But life happens. His father, though dying, is focused on sending every possible criticism his way, only making David feel pathetic and worthless. His children, Shelly (Gemmenne de la Pena) and Mike (Nicholas Hoult), are extremely troubled as well. Shelly is 12 years old, obese and recently took up smoking. Mike has just finished rehab for marijuana and one of his male counselors is beginning to spend a little too much time with him. David finds all of this out, much to his own surprise, and attempts to deal with the growing number of family issues through his own fatherly inhibitions, which aren't very good.