… BRING AN UMBRELLA.

A weather man (Nicolas Cage) on a Chicago TV station is pondering the meaning of his life as his father (Michael Caine) gets a death sentence, his children ignore him and a tempting job offer comes his way… Midlife crises are always a thankful subject for a movie and this one has plenty of food for thought. As we get to know Cage’s character, both he and we begin to realize a few facts about his situation, including what issues he should do something about and which ones he should simply accept, and move on. The wintry Chicago setting reflects the inner turmoil of the weather man in effective ways. Very good performances throughout.

2005-U.S. 102 min. Color. Produced by Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch. Directed by Gore Verbinski. Screenplay: Steve Conrad. Cast: Nicolas Cage (David Spritz), Michael Caine (Robert Spritzel), Hope Davis (Noreen), Michael Rispoli, Nicholas Hoult, Gemmenne de la Peña.

Last word: “[Cage and I are] both forty years old and he read the script at the same time that I did. So when I finished it I was thinking of him and when I met him, and we’ve met before, but this is the first time that we said that this is the one, and he said, ‘I am this guy. I don’t have to act. This is me.’ He’s been through marriages. He goes out and people harass him publicly. He’s got father issues and he’s struggling like all of us against mediocrity in our lives. So, there was really no one else to play the part.” (Verbinski, Chud)

IMDb