The Caveman's Valentine

2001

Crime / Drama / Music / Mystery / Thriller

5
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 46% · 85 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 51% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 5.8/10 10 8251 8.3K

woman director

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Plot summary

Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?

Director

Kasi Lemmons Photo
Kasi Lemmons

Top cast

Samuel L. Jackson Photo
Samuel L. Jackson as Romulus
Anthony Michael Hall Photo
Anthony Michael Hall as Bob
Aunjanue Ellis Photo
Aunjanue Ellis as Lulu
Colm Feore Photo
Colm Feore as Leppenraub
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
969.49 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 45 min
Seeds 2
1.94 GB
1918*1080
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 45 min
Seeds 1

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by pc_dean 7 / 10

Whodunit? Whocares?

Hollywood has a difficult time with mental illness. Typically, delusional characters are shown from the outside, with only the actor's performance to give you a clue about what is going on inside.This is a challenge that "The Caveman's Valentine" meets head-on. In addition to Samuel L. Jackson's fine portrayal, director Kasi Lemmons actually seeks to bring us into his world and show us the things that he sees. In most movies, this is a recipe for failure. Not here.Samuel L. Jackson's Romulus Ledbetter is a schizophrenic Julliard-trained pianist who lives in a cave in a New York park. He hears music in his head, and is haunted by visions of "moth-seraphs", whom we see in striking surreal imagery that perhaps too much resembles last year's "The Cell" for its own good, but is effective nonetheless. Ledbetter believes in a sinister force which he calls "Cornelius Gould Stuyvesant" (a combination of the names of three significant figures in New York history), who lives atop the Chrysler Building and controls people's minds with "y-rays" and "z-rays." The scenes involving the unseen Stuyvesant are the movie's most effective. The Chrysler Building, itself a symbol of New York's wealth, towers over exterior shots, and shimmers with malevolent green light as traffic lights flash and Ledbetter looks on with horror. The sequences are mesmerizing.Jackson's performance, too, is notable. Playing a schizophrenic homeless man seems like an opportunity to play big, ranting speeches, but Jackson plays it more subtly. Ledbetter is not a sugary stereotype or an object of pity. Jackson gives him some bite that often makes him unpleasant, but always believable.Like the character in "Shine", it is implied that Ledbetter cracked under the pressures of genius, and in order to make it through the movie, he has to face the mind-breaking terror of performing on the piano. In one particularly affecting scene, a lawyer (played to smarmy perfection by Anthony Michael Hall; it's good to see him all grown up) asks Ledbetter to play a piece in exchange for the loan of a suit. Ledbetter plays something (which sounds like Donizetti by way of the "Blade Runner" soundtrack), and we can feel the twitchy stress as Ledbetter's fingers touch the keys. Jackson has made us believe.There is also a vicious humor in the movie's idea that a delusional psychotic, with just a shave and a good suit, can without too much difficulty schmooze with New York art swells. I don't know if this joke is intentional, but it sure is funny.So, what's wrong with all this? Unfortunately, "The Caveman's Valentine" takes this great, textured performance and this brilliant visual depiction of the landscape of madness and grafts it on to a clunky "Diagnosis Murder"-style plot. The clumsy story, about a death which Ledbetter becomes convinced has to do with a trendy Mapplethorpe-esque photographer, relies heavily on the three c's: coincidence, contrivance, and cliche. It's got more holes than the back wall of a firing range. In addition, Colm Feore is uninteresting as the photographer ("Wild envy surrounds me," he says at one point;) and makes a far less compelling villain than "Stuyvesant." Ann Magnuson is wasted as the photographer's sister.Jackson is brilliant. Lemmons' visuals are brilliant. You may never look at the Chrysler Building quite the same way again. Unfortunately, there's an old saying in the military: when you mix good troops with bad, you get mediocre. And so it is with the movies, too.
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Reviewed by Enchorde 6 / 10

Average murder story with an interesting edge

Recap: If an obvious crazy man told you he seen a murder, would you believe him? Romulus aka the Caveman live in a cave in a park in New York city, hence his nickname, convinced that there is an evil dictator living at the top of Chrysler Building. When another homeless man turn up dead, frozen to death, just outside his cave, Romulus is convinced that it is connected to this dictator. No one believes him of course, not even his police daughter. But Romulus get's a lead to a famous photographer, in search for evidence and to gain his daughter's respect.

Comments: Samuel L Jackson is always good, no matter what. And in the Caveman's Valentine he really gets a chance to act in his typical, somewhat bombastic style. The story is an interesting one where there is a real unusual hero. Romulus is crazy, for real, and there is no doubt about it, he's not just a misunderstood genius. He is genuinely crazy, and his inner monologues add as much to the story as his interaction with other characters.

The story is divided in two, Romulus inner struggle and the possible murder. They are very much connected, even though their goal is different. But the writing is very good and balanced as no part takes over.

In the end the murder story is good, but not great in any way. Good enough to keep interest and give stage for a really good performance of Jackson.

6/10

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