For a thriller, “Looking Glass” is shockingly devoid of thrills—a film about watching that even Cage die-hards won’t want to watch.
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IN THIS CORNER: KELLY MINTZER
The Lowdown
I stopped taking pleasure in hating things somewhere in my 20s. Like a lot of vaguely precocious, somewhat pretentious, and certainly a little bit snotty would-be cinephiles, I spent a certain amount of my life (too long) enjoying feeling above certain pieces of media and exercising my vocabulary in explaining why they were bad and how I knew better.
And then I realized. All of that energy devoted to shitting on something someone else might like (and with just as much right as I had to loathe it) could be used lifting up the things I enjoyed.
This is a lot of build-up to saying: this week’s Cage Match really challenges my Thumper, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” policy. Because not only is it dull and inert, it’s a squandered opportunity.
Looking Glass is a take on a voyeur’s story, one we’ve seen variations of plenty of times. Nic Cage and his wife, reeling from the (frankly, narratively unnecessary, but more on that in a bit) loss of a child, take over ownership and management of a relatively remote motel. Cage discovers an area where he can observe his guests unseen, highjinx (barely) ensue.
So yes, of course we have seen this done before, but even so, it’s a good setup, both the voyeur angle and the unique claustrophobia and sense of danger the motel setting can cultivate. Norman Bates showed us just how scary a seemingly harmless roadside stop can be.
But Looking Glass fails to create any suspense.
The pacing is baffling; slow, yes, but also unfocused. It seems at a certain point that the plot is going to kick into gear, and then it simply… doesn’t.
Some of the problem is the film’s troubled hero. I think we’re supposed to feel sympathy for Cage? I felt like he was a creep. The dead child aspect adds nothing; I think a lot of thrillers and horror movies have begun to rely on trauma to do the heavy lifting of creating actual characters, defining these stock archetypes by a loss we haven’t seen, haven’t experienced, and that frankly just makes the whole thing feel dour.
The movie might have been more interesting had it made Nic Cage a contented enough middle-aged man who gives in to a potentially destructive compulsion out of nothing more than boredom. I think that’s probably relatable to a lot more of the population, at least. And that might have made way for some pulpy fun.
But I’m not one to tell a filmmaker how to make the movie they want to make. I find myself questioning, was this the movie ANYONE wanted to make?
Even as a soulless cash-grab, there was room to have fun, or to at least create a nasty, trashy thriller. Take Vacancy—it’s not a good movie, but it uses its limited setting and its voyeuristic elements to create one hell of a watchable trash film.
Looking Glass suffers by comparison, of course.
This genre HAS been done amazingly, from Psycho to The Conversation, film has long explored the complicated nature of being a tourist in others’ lives. But it also sinks fully on its own lack of merits. Convince me that I should think Nicolas Cage, getting off on non-consensually watching a dominatrix have sex, should be the hero of the movie, or lean into making him kind of sleazy.
Looking Glass does neither.
The Cage Factor:
It must be abundantly clear that this is a Rat in a Cage. There isn’t even the lurid pleasure of seeing an unhinged Cage performance. Frankly, he seems sleepy. I can appreciate a nuanced, quiet Cage; this isn’t that. This is an “Oh no, I’ve bought something really stupid again and now I have to pay for it, but I don’t want to work too hard” Cage. Watch any number of better voyeur movies over this one.
AND IN THIS CORNER: STEPHANIE MALONE
The Lowdown
Imagine purchasing a desolate motel in the middle of nowhere, hoping for a fresh start after a family tragedy. Instead, you stumble upon a hidden room, a two-way mirror, and a voyeuristic portal into the dark underbelly of a seemingly idyllic town. That’s the premise of Looking Glass, and it’s a premise that, in theory, holds a certain lurid appeal.
The film’s strength lies in its atmospheric tension. The desolate setting, the lingering sense of unease, and the voyeuristic element create a palpable sense of dread. The cinematography, with its stark contrasts and unsettling framing, enhances the film’s unsettling mood.
However, it suffers from an underdeveloped and meandering narrative. The plot unfolds at a snail’s pace, and the film struggles to maintain momentum. The characters are thinly drawn, and their motivations remain murky. The film hints at a deeper conspiracy but never fully commits, leaving the audience with more questions than answers.
The attempts at suspense often fall flat, relying on predictable jump scares and clichéd tropes. The final act, in particular, feels rushed and anticlimactic, failing to deliver a satisfying resolution to the mounting tension.
Looking Glass is a slow-burn thriller that simmers but never boils, leaving a lingering sense of unfulfilled expectations.
The Cage Factor
As Ray, the grieving father and motel owner, Nicolas Cage delivers a performance somewhere between subdued melancholy and simmering paranoia. The film teases a descent into madness, but Cage never fully plunges into the abyss, leaving a sense of untapped potential.
It’s not necessarily a bad performance, just an underwhelming one. Given the right material, Cage can do subdued brilliantly, but the film’s sluggish pacing and lack of tension work against him here. His character is largely reactive, meaning he spends much of the movie looking concerned, staring at the two-way mirror, or hesitating to act when things get strange.
It’s frustrating because a film like this, one that revolves around voyeurism and moral ambiguity, could have been an incredible showcase for Cage’s ability to oscillate between guilt, curiosity, and madness. Instead, it’s a missed opportunity, and a painfully dull one at that.
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