The Caveman's Valentine

Amazon.com

Samuel L. Jackson gives a virtuoso performance in this intensely visual suspense film. Jackson stars as Romulus Ledbetter, a brilliant musician whose mental demons have driven him onto the streets. When Ledbetter finds a murdered man outside the cave he calls home one morning, he is compelled to find the real killer. While interesting enough to hold the viewer's attention, the mystery of The Caveman's Valentine is a distant third to Jackson's performance and the film's sumptuous visuals. The film is gorgeously shot, and lights and abstract images are effectively used to show Romulus's beautiful but tormented inner world. While the plot does take a silly leap of logic or two, Romulus's illness and the strain it puts on his family are sensitively and realistically handled. His all-too-real run-ins with his policewoman daughter are nicely contrasted with his visions of his ex-wife, who serves as a combination of Greek chorus and muse. If one is willing to suspend a little disbelief here and there, this picture is well worth a look. --Ali Davis

Customer Reviews:

The Strength of Great Actors vs, So-So Material.......2006-01-09

I have seen this film many times over the years and my opinion of it hasn't changed much. Kasi Lemmons is a very interesting director, she has a nice visual flair as evidenced also with Eve's Bayou, she seems to have incorporated elements of Black Theatre into this piece with the Moth Seraphs and their dances.

Samuel L. Jackson is completely at his best, and once again shows why he is a huge mainstream movie star. His portrayal of Romulus Ledbetter is very much Sam Jack, but he does some amazing things with this character with such small nuances as his disoriented walk much like what Ralph Fiennes did in Cronenberg's Spider (for those who have seen that), in fact this is the kind of story I could see David Cronenberg tackling, but alas this film suffers from what I call a conventional ending, and has too many cliche plot twists for me that in the end it almost comes off as an above average prime time television show along the lines of CSI or even a made-for-television film.

I do recommend seeing this for Lemmons direction, and Jackson's awesome performance. Any young actor can learn a thing or two.

-Thomas Galasso

Worst performance.......2005-12-27

I am a genuine fan of Samuel Jackson - his recent fims such as Coach Carter and In my Country have proved his undoubted versatility as an actor. So what on earth induced him to get involved in such a trashy film - and to allow himself to be directed in such a way. His acting is atrocious, as is the rest of the film - feeble script, dismal cinematography and a complete bore. Sorry, but this had to be said !

One of my favorites!.......2004-10-04

This is perhaps one of the most underestimated films of all time. I don't see how this film went totally unnoticed by pretty much everyone. Samuel L. Jackson gives THE best performance of his career as Romulus Ledbetter - second only to Jules Winnfield in "Pulp Fiction". Kasi Lemmons proves once again that she's an excellent director, who strangely hasn't directed anything since this. The music by Terence Blanchard is also excellent. The cinematography is BEAUTIFUL. Everything about this film is excellent, although your suspension of disbelief will come in handy every now and again.

Totally recommended!

A good adaptation of the book.......2004-05-01

There were many things missing or different from the book, but what movie adaptation is perfect?... Samuel L. Jackson was wonderful as Romulus, and the story made a good movie. If you enjoy the movie, you should pick up the George Dawes Green book -- same author as The Juror, also adapted into a movie starring Demi Moore and Alec Baldwin.
Also, on the DVD's "Deleted Scenes" section there is a WONDERFULLY choreographed scene with Rom's "moth-seraphs" which is just amazingly beautiful to watch! It's too bad they cut it from the movie, but be sure to take it in when you're going through the Bonus Features.

Hidden gem!.......2004-01-14

I got this movie just because of Samuel Jackson. It turned out to be a great movie. On the one hand, it's a very decent thriller, on the other hand, it's a good psychological drama. The story of homeless man witnessing a murder is not the most original but the movie makes it fresh by very good character development. Having said this, the thriller part of the movie is not perfect. There are certain aspects of it that could be done better or plot sometimes could be more logical. But still the overall approach to the movie, its atmsosphere and great Samuel Jackson play make this movie worth watching.

Average customer rating:

The Strength of Great Actors vs, So-So Material
Worst performance
One of my favorites!
A good adaptation of the book
Hidden gem!

The Caveman's Valentine
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson , Colm Feore , Ann Magnuson , Damir Andrei , and Aunjanue Ellis
Director: Kasi Lemmons
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00003CY74