Nicolas Cage’s latest movie, The Surfer, may be a far cry from the hit Netflix drama Adolescence, but the two projects have more in common than you might think
Netflix’s popular series Adolescence has been a hot topic since its premiere in March this year.
The show features Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller, a father whose life falls apart when his 13-year-old son Jamie (portrayed by Owen Cooper) is arrested for the murder of a female classmate.
The four-part drama received acclaim for its unflinching exploration of tough issues such as the harmful impact of social media and the increasing incidents of violent misogyny among teenage boys.
For those viewers who were deeply moved by Adolescence and are interested in further exploring how toxic masculinity can manifest in older men, they should check out the latest thriller starring Nicolas Cage, The Surfer.
While at first glance this surreal journey into desperation featuring Cage’s unnamed protagonist returning to his Australian hometown and clashing with locals seems like a very different project, it delves into the same themes as the Netflix hit by examining male tribalism, reports the Express.
Cage’s character, who aims to repurchase his childhood home and surf the beach with his son (played by Finn Little), immediately finds himself at odds with a group of cult-like surfers led by the charismatic Scally (Julian McMahon), who presents himself as a sort of male wellness guru.
In an interview with Express Online, director Lorcan Finnegan shared the origins of his film’s distinctive villain, drawing influence from the likes of outspoken ‘manosphere’ figure Andrew Tate, who is mentioned in Adolescence.
“He’s an amalgamation of a lot of people like that,” Finnegan remarked. “Probably not as bad as Andrew Tate.
“He’s got a bit of Joe Rogan, Jordan Peterson. There’s another guy called Tim Morrison, who’s a little bit more on the shaman side.
“There are a lot of these people who are self-help gurus that work in the corporate world and they bring people in on these retreats where they teach them how to get in touch with their inner-selves and masculinity.
“And then they go back to their jobs and fire 300 people, or something. So there’s this contrast between this spiritualism and corporate-capitalist mindset.”
While The Surfer doesn’t focus heavily on violence against women, it delves into the toxic dynamics among men who sideline those they categorise as ‘outsiders’.
Cage’s role sees him fall prey to this spiteful behaviour as the male group’s bullying begins to erode his very sense of self.
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“[Scally] was slightly based on those people, but Julian also made the character his own,” continued Finnegan. “He had ideas about his haircut and ways of speaking to these guys and having this kind of call and response.
“So, he plays the character very well where it’s slightly less black and white than a kind of Andrew Tate, who’s obviously a misogynist. Whereas Julian played him as someone… you might think he is trying to help Nic.
“From his point of view he was, from his character’s point of view he was trying to help him understand his ideology, even though it was quite dark. He’s more ambiguous as to whether he’s a good guy or a bad guy.”
The film is currently exclusive to cinemas, so seize the chance to watch this captivating companion piece to what’s been Netflix’s roaring success of 2025.
The Surfer is in cinemas now. Adolescence is available to stream on Netflix.
