Robert Connolly talks about bringing Nicolas Cage to the salty sea of The Surfer

The Curb

Lorcan Finnegan's wild and weird trip-fest flick The Surfer is one that's had local audiences salivating at the prospect of its arrival. That anticipation went into hyperdrive when Oscar winning actor and walking cult-factory Nicolas Cage was announced as the leading man, a bloke returning home to the South West to buy his family home, reconnect with family, and surf a little. His idea of a Christmas sojourn is scarpered when 'the locals', headed up by Julian McMahon at his career best, thwart his chance of escaping the heat and securing the home he has his eyes on.

The Surfer is, admittedly, a divisive flick, with reactions ranging from comparisons to Wake in Fright, to our own critic Cody Allen voicing displeasure with it. I personally found the film akin to that of a dehydrated fever dream, as if you're continually out of reach of hydrolytes and salvation, so instead you have to resort to drinking dog shit filled water and maybe chowing down on local rodents to get by. It's sweaty, filthy, and at times, oddly representative of what it feels like to visit Margaret River and Yallingup after downing too many bevvies at Beerfarm. And yeah, those comparisons to Ted Kotcheff's flick feel apt given its presentation of masculinity, but to me it's more like a West Aussie version of the seventies thriller The Swimmer.

There's something really sweaty about The Surfer, a mystery embedded in a world of mean and mad folks who each have a sly streak of cruelty, wrapped up in that familiar Aussie friendliness. I was never sure where Lorcan Finnegan and writer Thomas Martin was taking me, but I was bloody happy to be dragged along in the process. There's a risk taking mindset to The Surfer, one that pushes at the boundaries of what Aussie films or stories can be. If this is where Aussie stories told from non-Aussie perspectives might be going, then strap me in, I'm on for the whole ride.

As Western Australia ramps up to becoming a full throttled filmmaking state with the 2026 arrival of our first 'film studios', it then became a good time to touch base with surrogate sandgroper Robert Connolly, this time wearing a producer hat, to talk about his role in bringing The Surfer to WA shores, what his experience of having made films like Paper Planes and Blueback brings to a major production like this one, and additionally, what his producing presence means for filmmakers, actors, and Aussie creatives.

It's always a delight to be able to talk to Robert, just as it's been a delight to be able to see the global reaction to a film like The Surfer. If you're in Australia, you'll have your chance to catch the film on the big screen - just how it's meant to be seen - from 15 May, before it heads onto Stan. later in the year.

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