'The Runner' Is A Smart Political Drama, No Thanks To Lead Nicolas Cage

By Joel Wicklund in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 7, 2015 7:20PM

Sarah Paulson and Nicolas Cage in "The Runner." (Photo © 2015 Our Alchemy, LLC. All rights reserved.)

It’s not in the same league as The Candidate or Primary Colors, but The Runner is a smart political drama that benefits greatly from a powerful ending where cynicism about American leadership meets a chillingly dark sort of existentialism.

What keeps The Runner merely solid instead of special is very ordinary direction by first-time helmer Austin Stark (a veteran producer who makes a more impressive debut as a screenwriter), and the problematic leading man, Nicolas Cage. Cage's long and prolific run of mediocre-to-terrible movies (perhaps fueled by his financial woes) has been much discussed as a prime example of a talented actor wasting his abilities.

But I would argue that Cage has never been so much a talented actor as a memorably quirky over-actor. Even his Oscar-winning, critically acclaimed performance in Leaving Las Vegas always struck me as very over the top. In the right movie, with the right kind of "out there" role, Cage is a terrific presence. He was made for the kind of wild comic or melodramatically outlandish work he did in films like Vampire's Kiss, Raising Arizona and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. And he'll certainly serve a high-camp, guilty pleasure like Drive Angry well.

If you're looking for subtlety and realism, however, Cage usually comes up short. In some recent work, he seems to be trying to reverse his downward career spiral. Though he was acceptable in David Gordon Green's effective rural drama Joe (2014), there are countless actors who would have served that role better. The same is true here, where Cage reins in his tics, but still seems able to convey emotion only as affectations.

Fortunately, Stark's writing and a superb supporting cast make up for the star's limitations. Set shorty after the 2010 BP oil spill that had a catastrophic effect on ocean life and countless humans dependent on it, The Runner stars Cage as a Louisiana congressman working to expedite the cleanup. An impassioned speech makes him a leading contender for a Senate seat, but a sex scandal threatens to undo his well-intentioned work.

There are plenty of familiar elements here: the political idealist compromised by an affair, his career-driven wife (Connie Nielsen), and the lure of power fueled by corporate interests. But Stark's screenplay hits those points with well-researched credibility and dramatic potency. Bryan Batt's sinister oil executive is a little too black-hatted to believe, but otherwise the contrast between the labor class and the privileged is played out convincingly. And the congressman's post-scandal romance with one of his campaign operatives (Sarah Paulson) is surprisingly moving in its bittersweet tone.

Paulson is terrific as the object of the flawed hero's affections, never hitting a false note. Equally good in more limited screen time are Nielsen, Wendell Pierce (best known as Detective Bunk Moreland on The Wire), Ciera Payton, and Peter Fonda, who steals several scenes as Cage's charismatic, alcoholic father.

Nielsen has the most thankless role of the bunch, but she does get to deliver, in voiceover, the movie's most memorable line. It's the moment that gives this film its real distinction as not merely another movie about failed political promise, but one that explains that failure with a horrible sense of hard-hitting truth. In trying to convince her husband to give in to corporate backing to get elected, Nielsen's status-climber spouse offers this justification: "Only great men know how to make people's powerlessness tolerable."

That's one hell of a line and it makes me eager to see the next movie Stark pens, though I also hope his directorial vision grows. The Runner is yet another movie shot in widescreen dimensions for no apparent reason. Close-ups and medium shots dominate, with perfunctory handheld camerawork also in heavy use. This kind of indifferent composition is increasingly the norm as movies are made to be seen on tablets and other small-screen devices as much as the silver screen. Too bad, because a tad more visual ambition here would have made this feature much more memorable.

Still, Stark's writing and most of the cast make it worth catching. And while Hollywood has been very active in New Orleans thanks to generous post-Katrina tax breaks, this movie seems to have a real feel for the city and its surrounding communities. Batt, Payton, Pierce and other cast members are all natives of The Big Easy and Stark's script conveys genuine affinity for the region, even if its haunting conclusion doesn't suggest much hope for Gulf coast residents...or the rest of us.

The Runner. Written and directed by Austin Stark. Starring Nicolas Cage, Sarah Paulson, Connie Nielsen, Wendell Pierce and Peter Fonda. 90 mins. Rated R.

Opens Friday, Aug. 7th at Facets Cinémathèque and also available through iTunes and various video-on-demand services.