Satisfyingly gray skies for 'The Weather Man'
By Nick Norman
"The Weather Man" is a gray man. He lives in a gray world. He longs for his gray divorced wife. He misses his two gray children in their gray house.
As you might have guessed, this is a somber film. But it's a good kind of gray, the kind found in sagely elephants who never forget a lesson, itchy and paternal beards and well-worn nickels.
Director Gore Verbinski, known for his hijinks on the high seas with "Pirates of the Caribbean," leaves the swords behind with "The Weather Man." Rolling waves become the lulling ebb of commuter traffic. Pitched battles only occur between a divorced couple. Conquests are always achieved within yourself. Especially if your name is David Spritz (Nicholas Cage).
Spritz's life is devoid of care-free spontaneity. His world sprinkles constant snow and rain upon his hunched shoulders -- the passersby even pummel him with fast-food goodies. The echoing of ticking clocks follows him through his routine.
His overweight daughter has taken up smoking, an older homosexual man targets his teenage son. His father is dying.
But, the ultimate tragedy is in watching a man who's unable to listen to himself. He spits out advice: carry more than a dollar with you, don't involve yourself in grown-up matters if you cant handle them. Yet he walks off with a dollar in his wallet and a failed marriage to deal with.
He cusses in front of his young children and sets a poor example. Essentially, David Spritz is who your mother threatens you might become if you didn't do your homework: as emotionally frigid as the weather he tries to predict.
Screenwriter Steve Conrad presents us with a character we don't want to like. He possesses all those nasty qualities we despise in ourselves from time to time. He can't communicate with his family, he lacks self-respect, he's afraid to take action. The problem is, he's these things all of the time, not from time to time.
These faults cost him his marriage and his happiness. Cage's wonderfully awkward performance had my mind screaming, wake up and get your life in order ... you idiot.
"The Weather Man" has simple, yet effective symbolism that brings solid life to the film. The metaphors, messages and motifs are obvious and striking but they never distract. This balance carries the film. The characters and plot remained detached just enough to draw you into their world. Verbinski is unafraid to let the shot linger awkwardly long. Furthermore, Verbinski constructed a perfect tone. Like the protagonist, I found myself craving a glimpse of color. A flash of flamingo pink or a trickle of absinthe green would have been a decadent dose of hope for both Spritz and the audience. But as one character tells us, "Easy doesn't enter into grown-up life."
If this film is grown-up life, show me the way to Neverland. I hear the weather there is nice this time of year.
Grade: B+
Contact Nick Norman at (408) 551-1918 or nicknorman@gmail.com.