Lorcan Finnegan continues his trend of making intriguing films with psychological thriller The Surfer. Set in Australia, The Surfer perfectly casts Nicolas Cage as a man on the edge who is pushed to the extreme. It’s a role the actor has played countless times, but The Surfer is one of his strongest outings with Lorcan Finnegan getting a career best performance out of the star.
In The Surfer, a man (Cage) returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood to surf with his son, but is humiliated by a group of powerful locals and drawn into a conflict that rises with the punishing heat of the summer and pushes him right to his breaking point.
THN caught The Surfer at the London Film Festival last year and were immediately struck by, not only Cage’s unravelling performance, but Finnegan’s talent behind the camera. Finnegan has managed to capture the oppressive Australian heat and deadly nature of the man’s environment. The director also beautifully relays his story of broken masculinity, exploring the bonds of men, and displays exactly how savage and cruel humans can be to one another. The Surfer arrives in cinemas across the UK from Friday 9th May and we advise maybe skipping the snacks as Lorcan Finnegan has snuck in a couple of real gross-out moments.
Ahead of The Surfer’s release, THN were able to speak with Lorcan Finnegan about the project. Our conversation covered what drew him and fellow Irishman writer Thomas Martin to create a story set in Australia, capturing heat on screen, the intrigue of the human psyche, and exactly how The Surfer ties into Billy Wilder’s 1954 film, Sabrina.
The Surfer arrives in cinemas across the UK from Friday 9th May 2025.
