The Runner

The sausage machine that is Nicolas Cage cranks out another movie. It's no Joe, Cage's best in a bad run. But it is a decent drama of fall and redemption that spares us the supernatural shtick that Cage so often saddles himself with. He plays Pryce, a Louisiana congressman whose fight on behalf of claimants seeking compensation for the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is starting to earn him national notice. But both his career and marriage are wrecked by sexual indiscretions with a claimant's wife. Down but not out, Pryce seeks personal and professional redemption through continued pro-bono attorney work for the oil-spill victims. Given the emotive real-life backdrop, The Runner leaves one a little cold - it's hard to sympathise with Cage's character and his plight. Although first-time writer/director Austin Stark has his heart in the right place and Cage eschews his trademark zaniness, it's only watchable rather than gripping.