Crime Shades

"Cavemans Valentine" is one of the best psychological portraits i've ever watched. And i've watched a lot of them, since i love that type of film. Jackson does a excellent part, taking the viewer through the mind and thoughts of a schizophrenic. Never before have i seen an actor play a role, the way Jackson does here. You feel like being able to follow his twisted mindgames, although you sometimes can't be sure what is real and what's not. I like Jackson as an actor before, but now i have to admit, that i've always underestimated him. His performance is just incredible. The way he acts, you feel like every little part of this character is just as real as he is. To all the people out there, who haven't seen this movie: Watch it, or you don't know what excellent acting is!

This is another little film that held my interest more than the hyped up films sitting in theaters this summer. Samuel L. Jackson is an ex-musician/husband/father -- now a Central Park cave dweller - who is determined to solve a murder, mainly to win the respect of his cop daughter.

The story is very good, as is the casting and the acting. But the film seems rather pretentiously made in parts and Jackson's character is problematic. There is no explanation as to why a brilliant man with such moments of amazing lucidity should have shunned his wife and child and chosen homelessness rather than some sort of treatment. Still, an interesting film to see on video.

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.

The reviews are up and down for this one, and it may be because of the psycho scenes. As the first reviewer noted, it does a good job of getting the viewer inside the psycho's head, but if you aren't into strange scenes with psychotic visions, confusing sequences, etc you might find it tedious. These aren't the crisp psycho scene like in The Cell, but more like visions. The plot is good, and the supporting acting is adequate. But watching this nut stumble around trying to catch a crook might be too off the wall for some people. I'd give it a 6.5/10.

It's not really a cave. It's more like a rock shelter. But whatever we call it, it is home to Romulus Ledbetter (Samuel L. Jackson), a sensitive, and sometimes delusional, homeless man in Manhattan. One winter morning, he discovers a dead man outside his abode. But who is this person, and how did he end up outside of Romulus' cave? Or, could the dead man be just another one of Romulus' delusions? The rest of the film follows Romulus, in his quest to solve the mystery.

One of the film's strengths is Jackson's fine performance. With his long curly locks, his dark and grubby attire, his distinctive way of walking, and his stutter, Jackson gives depth to his character, and entreats empathy for a group of people who are too often stereotyped as worthless.

Another strength is the film's ability to contrast street life with high society. Romulus' quest carries him to society's elite. In one sequence, we see images of torture, while listening to opera. In another sequence, we see a homeless man playing classical piano to an audience of art lovers. The contrast is marvelous.

The film's downside is the contrived and hokey plot, with tons of improbable occurrences. Also, secondary roles seem hollow, and exist mainly to advance the plot.

"The Caveman's Valentine" is worth seeing once, for Jackson's sensitive and persuasive portrayal of a homeless man. I just wish the writers could have found some other, more plausible, reason for Romulus to interact with New York City's cultural elite.