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Sadly Over-hyped

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The Caveman's Valentine has always fascinated me. As someone who has a mental illness, I've always tried my best to seek out films that portray such conditions in a respectable, inquisitive and enlightening tone. While this one cushions it's earnestness with a slightly lurid and generic murder mystery, much of its desire to explore its character's inner mindset shine through superbly and with much more authenticity than other films that try the same. Unless you suffer through, or have some intimate experience with someone like this protagonist, it's tough to artistically represent their state. This one manages very well, and Samuel L. Jackson gives one of the most memorable, affecting and curiously overlooked performances of his career so far. Jackson is an actor who almost always gets cast in assured, authoritative roles. Here he portrays exactly the opposite of that as Romulus, a severely schizophrenic man who lives in a cave in Central Park, New York City. Romulus was once a brilliant pianist and a student at Juilliard, before his illness cut his career and personal life painfully short. He spends his days in confusion, raving in delusion about an all powerful man named Stuyvesant who secretly manipulates everyone in the city. When a young man is found murdered near his cave door, he feels an internal compulsion to find out what happened to him. As you might imagine, a man with his affliction might not make the most reliable detective, but Romulus tries his best and in between bouts of paranoia he makes his way towards weirdo avant grade photographer David Leppenraub (always excellent Colm Feore) who may have had something to do with the homicide. He also has a daughter (Aunjanue Ellis) who is a policewoman and somewhat resents him through her ignorance, and a wife (Tamara Tunie) who no doubt left, but still speaks to him in segments of his visions. Because his perceptions can't be trusted, even by himself, it makes it a touch and go plot-line that's heavily accented by frequent visual detours into his own consciousness, where humanoid Moth Sarefs hauntingly play unearthly instruments. Director Kasi Lemmons is not only a woman, but an actress herself, both traits which I believe lead to a certain intuitive advantage in filmmaking. I absolutely love how she moulds the narrative to patiently linger with Romulus's perception of events and never make them sensationalistic or rushed. Even though Romulus walks through a dangerous, real world story of murder and corruption, the film always sticks with his childlike, abstract and very intangible internal view of the world, a choice which most films either don't possess the courage or aren't allowed to do. Jackson is subtle, complex dynamite in what is for me the best work of his career, playing completely against type and most definitely the opposite of his usual instincts to give us something truly special, to any viewer who wishes to exhibit the same patience and understanding that the filmmakers have strived for in making this unique piece.

Sam J. (jees! what an actor), one more time simply becomes the character the tale requires. Where the "bleep" are all his awards? Nevermind ...It's a murder mystery. No not that kind. The sleuth here is mental case who lives in a dome of rocks in a park. Except he's a musical genius who is in constant battle with some kind of mind controlling rays from a Capitalist Wizard named Inversol (or something like that) abiding in an ivory tower over looking the city. Wait, wait ... it's about his impossible relationship with his daughter. No, wait ... it's about this mental being the one to figure out the "who dunnit". Except he isn't mental, is he? Society is mental or is it what passes for society? Or not.And it's about art using the human psyche as its canvas and when art wanders over a cliff.Can you imagine an actor the caliber of Samuel Jackson reading this script and nodding? It's as wacky as its title. But watch him do it, watch him bring Romulus Ledbetter to life.The movie would have been decent with another talented actor in the lead but SJ set the character on fire and set it in concrete.The film's problem? Samuel Jackson's performance elevated the bar to a level the rest of the movie didn't see coming. So while the movie is better than it should have been, it seems to miss its bullseye at the same time.With just a bit of tweaking, anticipating the Romulus Ledbetter SJ would create, "The Caveman's Valentine" would have found itself sharing shelf space with genuine classics.Absolutely ... WOW!

This is one seriously strange movie. I guess it had to be, since the main character are a paranoid schizophrenic. The movie runs like a weird old fashioned murder mystery. And of cause there is an investigator, our schizophrenic caveman.Thankfully the director doesn't go over board in his attempt at taking us into the messed up head of the main character. this and the fact that Samuel knows not to overplay, makes Ledbetter's mental illness believable, yet lets us see the brilliant mind he still possesses.I give the movie an 8, but still I am a little disappointed. I feel the plot lacks a few twist and turns. If it had that, then this would maybe rate as high as a 10. I also would have liked to see a little more interaction, and cooperation between Ledbetter and his daughter.Anyway, this is a well worth watching movie. I feel it takes the old murder mysteries into the modern movie world and does a decent job in revitalizing the old genre.I think you should watch this movie. Well that's all for this time.

"The Caveman's Valentine" is a fascinating, uncondescending exploration of schizophrenia AND a workable mystery with a surprise at the end. Before viewing it, I expected more of the latter, but the movie keeps its ingredients on a uniquely suspenseful balance. Samuel Jackson is impressive, both for accepting such an "unglamorous" role and for the way he actually pulls it off. Movies that have something different to show you are so rare these days that when you get the chance to watch one, you shouldn't miss it. (***)