2. He Can Do Indie Just As Well As Blockbuster
Ive never understood the hate that The Weather Man gets- and the same goes for Brett Ratners The Family Man, because as much as I hate to admit it, its actually quite a good film despite who directed it. The common factor here? Nicolas Cage. The Weather Man is a classic example of a studio rewarding a director for delivering a blockbuster franchise (See Christopher Nolan with
Inception), giving them a passion project- although some are bigger than others. Watching this was an utter delight, because I think theres nothing better than when Cage actually
acts- sadly, with exceptions like Matchstick Men, Kick Ass and Lord of War, its becoming less and less common. And this is Cages movie- as solid as Michael Caine is as support, this is a wonderful, understated performance. Verbinski takes a step back from the pomp and noise of The Pirates movies and just tells a simple story about a man with a problem. And the fact he does it so intimately and in such an engaging way shows he can do indie just as well as he can do blockbuster. There is no convoluted plot, it is never boring, and visually it was rather unremarkable. But it was a damn sight better than many mumblecore dramas coming out of Sundance nowadays (again, not blasting Sundance or independent film, but you have to admit I do have a point) It made me wish Verbinski would stick to such dramas as The Weather Man, because he obviously has things to say and serves small-scale, personal material well. Compare this to something pretentious like Beginners, and we potentially have an interesting, recurring voice on the indie scene from Verbinski. Hell, even some low-budget genre fare would be interesting if he helmed it!