A man finds himself conflicted as he searches for answers in this indie thriller from the director of 80’s hits like Tex and River’s Edge.
Since the death of their child, Ray and Maggie have looked to start over. The couple take over a small motel in a desert area. Ray is still overcoming the death of his only child while Maggie is overcoming a drug addiction. The couple tend to either bicker or find themselves quite loving towards each other. They are introduced to some of the locals, including police officer Howard, and a man who comes to the motel to “relieve some stress”.
However, one fateful night will change Ray’s life forever. When a woman is murdered in one of the motel rooms, Ray finds himself questioned by Howard. As Ray searches for answers, he begins to experience a variety of issues and occurrences that threaten not only his marriage to Maggie, but perhaps his life. Ray finds himself immersed in a web of deceit, lies, and betrayal in which only he can escape by facing the demons within both himself and within the hotel.
This is a very interesting film from director Tim Hunter that brings Nicolas Cage doing a 180 from his recent performance in Mom and Dad. Where that film gives him the chance to go insane on a whole new level, the script, written by Jerry Rapp and Matthew Wilder, enables Cage to go a more emotional and dramatic route in the central role of Ray. His chemistry with co-star Robin Tunney goes both ways in terms of both loving and hating each other and it works well. It is clear these two have some serious issues and one of the questions to be answered in the film is will they stay together or will they drift apart.
The film’s central plot involves a murder mystery and what happens when Ray searches for answers. This invokes Cage to pull off a more emotional performance as he finds himself confronted on all levels. It even gets to a point where Ray is unconsciously framed for the murder that happens within the motel. However, it is clear that it’s not true because Ray is seen with his wife when the murder happens. The film brings shades of the likes of 8MM, another film he starred in, when he finds himself seeing something he never imagined in a pivotal scene, which in turns leads to a few confrontations.
There is some pretty good support in the characters of Howard, played by Marc Blucas, and Tommy, an addict in his own right, played by Ernie Lively. Where Blucas plays a police officer who seems to question Cage on all levels but is somewhat likable, Tommy is a man with an issue and in some ways, it becomes an influence on Ray in his investigation. Another pivotal role comes in the form of Jessica, who rents the room where the murder occurs, and may or may not have a connection to the case at hand. There are some nice twists and turns that keep the viewer engaged in the investigation.
Looking Glass definitely helps brings Nicolas Cage’s more emotional side as he searches for answers and finds himself facing one obstacle after another in hopes to find out who is responsible for the murder in his motel.
WFG RATING: B
Momentum Pictures presents a Highland Film Group/Silver State Production Services/Kirk Shaw Production film in association with Prettybird. Director: Tim Hunter. Producers: Braxton Pope and David M. Wulf. Writers: Jerry Rapp and Matthew Wilder. Cinematography: Patrick Cady. Editing: Kristi Shimek.
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Robin Tunney, Marc Blucas, Ernie Lively, Jacque Gray, Bill Bolender, Barry Jay Minoff, Kassia Conway, Kimmy Hittelman.
Momentum Pictures will be releasing this film in select theaters, VOD, and Digital HD on February 16.
WorldFilmGeek 