#3: Rumble Fish (1983)

Hello! My name is Ed and I am trying to win the lottery by watching Nicolas Cage films, for reasons discussed here!

So far in trying to win the lottery by watching Nicolas Cage films, I have watched 2 Nicolas Cage films, and won the lottery 0 times. But the films were both quite bad. What will happen when I watch a Nicolas Cage film that isn’t terrible?

I’ll be honest, I in no way expected a film called Rumble Fish to be much cop at all. Because it’s called Rumble Fish, for fuck’s sake. But stupid name aside, it is in fact quite good, which is annoying because it turns out it’s way easier to point and laugh at failure than is it to write about a thing you had genuine positive human emotions about.

If I didn’t know who Francis Ford Coppola is, I think I’d have assumed Rumble Fish was his first film — there’s something almost brashly naive about it, like someone’s spent loads of times thinking about how to make films, finally had the chance to do it and poured absolutely everything into it at once. Which is weird, because by this point Coppola could have stopped making films and still be considered a titan of 20th century cinema canon (having made The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and other long films old people like).

ONE THING I LIKE ABOUT RUMBLE FISH IS THERE’S LOADS OF DRY ICE IN IT! LIKE IN ABOUT HALF THE SCENES EVEN WHEN THERE’S NO PARTICULAR REASON FOR IT TO BE THERE!

Rumble Fish is largely about a teenage Matt Dillon trying to prove to the world that he can be a big tough gang leader, while his older brother, Mickey Rourke (who it turns out looked like a normal human man before he subjected his face to an unfortunate combination of punching and plastic surgery) attempts to dissuade him of that ambition. The Rourke character was himself into gangs and fighting, but has subsequently thought better of it, preferring to spend his time philosophising and looking at fish.

ANOTHER THING I LIKE ABOUT RUMBLE FISH IS THAT MATT DILLON’S CHARACTER IS CALLED RUSTY JAMES AND EVERYONE SAYS “RUSTY JAMES” LIKE ABSOLUTELY LOADS AND THAT IS BRILLIANT.

There’s barely a plot to speak of — the film is instead carried along by a general sense of uneasiness and boozey paranoia. Stewart Copeland from off of The Police provides an excellently hectic percussive score that literally rattles along as the brothers careen their way towards the film’s conclusion.

RUMBLE FISH IS IN BLACK AND WHITE EXCEPT FOR THE FISH, LIKE THAT BIT IN SCHINDLER’S LIST BUT LESS HOLOCAUSTY.

The film has an intriguing lack of era— although the setting is apparently contemporary there’s a noirish sensibility that gives it the feel of a period piece — at times this clash (well, and all the dry ice) even give it the effect of some sort of dystopian science fiction.

Rourke is fantastic as the nameless older brother (only ever referred to as Motorcycle Boy) simmering with instability throughout even as he tries to guide Rusty James away from a life of violence. The cast as a whole is top — with respectable turns from Dennis Hopper, Larry Fishburne and even a very young Sofia Coppola (who I’m sure got the role entirely on merit).

DENNIS HOPPER PLAYS THE DAD IN RUMBLE FISH AND HE LOOKS LIKE HAROLD STEPTOE. THIS IS OCCASIONALLY DISTRACTING.

Our friend Nicolas Cage (the director’s nephew, who’d only recently changed his surname to make his career look less nepotistic) has a relatively small part as a member of the would-be gang who ends up supplanting the increasingly distracted Rusty James’ leadership, and even hooking up with his ex-girlfriend. It’s not a brilliant performance, but as one of the more straightforward roles in an otherwise manic film, it was never really going to stand out.

So, 3 films down and finally one I’d genuinely recommend. But will the quality of the film improve the quality of my lottery numbers, and make me a millionaire?

THE NUMBERS

10 — Rusty James’ big fight is scheduled for 10PM. He almost misses it because he is too busy doing a kiss (and maybe other things???) on a girl!

11 — Nicolas Cage tells Rusty James there haven’t been any real gangs since he was 10 years old. “Bullshit man, I was fucking 11.”

13 — The street number of Benny’s Billiards, which various characters haunt throughout the film. Benny is Tom Waits, from off of singing.

21 — Mickey Rourke “looks so old I forget he’s just 21”, in handy bit of lamp-shading to cover the fact that the actor is very obviously at least 30.

36 — One of the few moments that grounds the film in it’s era is a brief visit to an arcade. It’s at number 536.

45 — Welsh communist monsters the Manic Street Preachers like this film and once almost named a song “Colt 45 Rusty James”. They then decided to rename it “Spectators of Suicide”. Heavy.

THE RESULT

TWO WHOLE NUMBERS. Now we’re talking! And because they changed the rules of the lottery last year I actually win something! 2 balls apparently means you get a free go at the next lottery now (there’s more numbers to chose from so it’s harder to win). Thank you, Rumble Fish!

NEXT TIME ON NICOLAS CAGE:

He finally gets a leading role, in Valley Girl. Sadly, he does not play the Valley Girl.