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I was surprised to come across the feature Sonny, in what is Nicholas Cage’s directorial debut and a film that fits well with his ‘outside the box’ body of work.

Sonny is a film about Sonny (James Franco), a lost soul in search of himself and the son of a New Orleans whore, who returns home from a brief stint at the army determined to start a new life far away from prostitution. But the comfort of his old ways are hard to escape when he is afflicted by the corruption of others around him, and eventually reverts back into the life he so longed to leave behind. But even more depressing is his mother, Jewel, who first turned him into the profession when he was just twelve years old. Jewel lives off of Carol (Mena Suvari), another beautiful young whore who soon becomes Sonny’s love interest and eventually, his light of savior.

The film requires patience. It maintains a slow pace with some forced action between the group of unconventional characters that kept me mesmerized only to be spiteful the next minute. The sound track – with a tenacious reliance on Bach present a rhythmic trance that do well to pull you into the moments of darkness, but at times get a bit repetitive. In some respects, the film portrays an exact image of Nicolas Cage – the actor, in a mold that is tall and awkward with a blend of quiet control and sleepy mysteriousness, bringing to mind a similar feeling you get after watching Leaving Las Vegas.

The truths explored in Sonny are not easily accessible to people who have never faced the polar opposite of choices that face him; whether to square up, or continue a life with extremely limited options and little room for growth. It’s a film that explores many themes, that each of us are worthy of love, capable of innocence and growth, real affection can be found in the unlikeliest of places, respect shows itself in many ways, trust is fragile, and love doesn’t protect anyone from anything. But above all, Sonny portrays the gray point in life when we are forced to choose amid living a life in the past or the present, in which one must sacrifice their old ways for a new chance at hope.

I cant believe there was so much bad criticism surrounding this film, especially since it had something to say. Simply put, Sonny is an undiscovered gem that wont win awards but Nicolas Cage is to be heartily commended for what he’s accomplished.