paul_supercala Review of The Caveman's Valentine

The Caveman's Valentine (2001)

Samuel L. Jackson is awesome this movie isn't.

[12 May 2002]

As usual, Samuel L. Jackson (`Pulp Fiction') gives an amazing performance. This time as Romulus Ledbetter, a homeless, schizophrenic musician, who helps the cops solve a murder mystery. Sounds far-fetched? It is, but the film manages to be successful in bringing the viewer into Romulus's world. In between his mad rantings, you see a softer side of a father whose daughter, Lulu (Aunjanue Ellis from `Men of Honor'), has become a cop and has done her best to avoid him in her personal and professional life. He is also haunted by ghostly vision of his ex-wife, Sheila (Tamara Tunie of `Snake Eyes'), who is alive, but seems to be powered by his want or need for her in his life. While some concepts like that are interesting, the story itself is as whacky as the main character. At some points it is convincing until you look deeper into the details, such as his love affair with Moira Leppenraub (Ann Magnuson of `Friends and Lovers'), wife of the alleged killer, David Leppenraub (Colm Feore of `Storm of the Century'), and his constant attempts to see her, even though she is far from the city. Overall, this movie moves pretty slowly for a murder mystery and I predict that people will either love it or hate it. Directed by Kasi Lemmons (`Eve's Bayou'), this film is pretty well made; it just has a few holes in the script that could've used some patching up.