Movie Reviews

[Fantasia ’23] ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ review: Please allow me to introduce myself

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July 25, 2023

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the work being covered here wouldn’t exist.

It is a good year for genre cinema when Nicolas Cage plays Dracula and possibly the Devil. Sympathy for the Devil is about a driver (Joel Kinnaman, The Suicide Squad) who is forced to drive a mysterious passenger (Cage, Pig) at gunpoint. As the night progresses, it becomes clear not everything is as it seems.

The big draw here is going to be Cage, and he does not disappoint. The over the top delivery and theatrics that have made him the internet’s favorite actor are on full display. It is a performance that goes full speed ahead from his introduction. Since the vast majority of Sympathy for the Devil is just the two leads, chemistry is especially important. Kinnaman does a great job of playing off his co-star. The pair never have an even back and forth; the passenger is in control while the driver gets increasingly desperate in his attempts to escape. As the night goes on, things continue to escalate.

Yet, the film lacks the tension that would be expected from the situation. There is an air of mystery that never reaches peak suspense. Once Sympathy for the Devil begins to lean into the wild action, it almost gets away from the actual point. Obviously, there is always the question of who the passenger is and what part does the driver really play into things, but these questions become more background noise than actual important plot points.

There is enough wacky Nicolas Cage and mayhem to keep audiences invested, however. The pacing can be erratic, but for the most part, the plot is constantly pushing forward. Everything culminates in a satisfactory twist that may not be the one people want to see, but does bring closure to the night.