Sympathy for the Devil

Much of the action takes place in a constantly moving car, but the plot in Sympathy for the Devil hovers below the speed limit.

With apologies due the Rolling Stones — whose unrelated classic song shares a title — this low-budget thriller is noteworthy only for Nicolas Cage’s latest exhibition of loose-cannon hysteria as an unhinged villain. Please allow him to introduce himself.

Indeed, the role enables Cage to dig deep into his bag of over-the-top eccentricities, aided by bright-red hair and a vague New England accent, as an unnamed Las Vegas carjacker with a score to settle.

His late-night target is a mild-mannered guy (Joel Kinnaman) out for a quick errand before heading to the hospital where his wife will give birth.

However, the nihilistic gangster riding shotgun doesn’t seem to care, as he spews philosophical nonsense and rambles about a destination in the nearby desert. “I’m your family emergency now,” he cackles.

The interloper’s evil grin hardly disguises his sinister motives, for which he drops hints about — surprise — a shared past between the two. But as he’s held at gunpoint, the driver is adamant his identity has been mistaken and that they’ve never crossed paths.

Can he survive long enough to let his passenger’s reckless impulses bring him down? A stop at a roadside diner proves pivotal in the devil unleashing hell on everyone around him.

A two-hander set primarily inside a car isn’t especially cinematic, regardless of the neon-infused Vegas backdrop, which causes it to rely heavily on the dialogue and the shifting dynamic between the characters.

The screenplay is only intermittently compelling in its cat-and-mouse gamesmanship mixed with generous doses of bloody mayhem. Israeli director Yuval Adler (The Secrets We Keep) keeps the pace lively with a stylish visual approach reminiscent of crime sagas from a bygone generation.

The film coasts for a while on Cage’s manic energy, which might be enough to satisfy moviegoer expectations, making the understated portrayal by Kinnaman (Suicide Squad) more sympathetic by default.

As Sympathy for the Devil takes itself too seriously, the rooting interest is obvious. Yet without the accompanying suspense, the idea runs out of gas.

Rated R, 90 minutes.