“The Surfer” Is A Meditation On Masculine Localism In This Psychedelic Surf Noir Starring Nicolas Cage

You don’t live here
You don’t surf here

These are the unwelcoming words uttered to The Surfer (played by Nicolas Cage) by surfing localists at Luna Beach, Western Australia after he returns to purchase his childhood home after it recently comes on to the market. He wants to catch a few waves before the deal is signed. The locals ‘own’ the waves and the Surfer isn’t considered a local since he spent many years in California.

This jarring level of tribal territorialism isn’t specific to Australia, but still presents an insight into this aspect of masculinity.

That is what Irish director Lorcan Finnegan (Without Name, Vivarium) wants to explore in his surreal film which often teases the fuzzy interface between reality and hallucination.

The idea for the film began when Irish screenwriter Thomas Martin (Tin Star, Prime Target) wrote a short outline for a story called The Surfer inspired by Kemm Numm’s dark ‘Surf Noir’ novels. He also read John Cheever’s (the Chekhov of the suburbs) short story ‘The Swimmer‘ which later became a film starring Burt Lancaster. The works of Australian short story writer Robert Drewe also piqued his interest. Australian New Wave films such as Nicolas Roeg’s Walkabout (1971) – dreamtime stories about alienated outsiders, were also added to the creative mix.

A violent “localist” beach incident seared into Martin’s mind ignited his desire to write a screenplay about the subject.

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