Too much of everything

hyped garbage

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

I picked this up in the video store not knowing what to expect and was I pleasantly surprised. This film is a real work of art and works on many levels. First, the direction is magnificent. Lemmons works magic blending reality with flashbacks, imaginings and fantasies. Weaving all these together is a true feat. This is a film one could watch without the sound just to appreciate the images.Second, the arts that are portrayed are excellent, from the dancing to the music to the photography. Lemmons has a fantastic arts sense.Third, the performances. Jackson is magnificent. A musician who cannot take the pressure of his career and of the context in which he must perform yet maintains his artistic sensibility. Like so many real people, his fears become externalized, but he still maintains a sense of his reality. And it is this sense which makes his character credible when it comes to the plot.The plot is a good mystery but would have been hackneyed in lesser hands. And the plot works on at least two levels. Romulus may be crazy, but he knows what is going on and the images of his wife beautifully portrayed by Tamara Tunie keeps Romulus grounded. And since this is a character driven film, this conflict between Romulus's fears and fantasies with the realities he finds himself in, works beautifully thanks to Jackson's performance. On the second level the mystery qua mystery also works well. There are enough confusions to keep the viewer guessing.All in all a great film.

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.

Samuel L Jackson is the finest actor of his generation, so what he's doing in this load of rubbish I don't know. Sam portrays Romulous Ledbetter, a gifted pianist whose mental illness destroys his career and leads to live in a cave. How he managed to overcome these demons and become successful only to sucumb to them again we never find out. The catalyst for his descent into civilisation is the discovery of a body in a tree near his cave. After this, the film turns into a second rate episode of Columbo with Sam uncovering clues left, right and centre only to be thrawted by masked men trying to keep the deadly secret. The general problem with this film is the story. It attempts to be a murder mystery which is trying to make a point about mental illness but instead becomes lost in itself amid a clutch of over the top performances and outlandish ideas (we are expected to believe a white banker would offer a suit and a place to stay to a delirious black man). This film sat on the shelf in Britain for three years and it only came out here last week. Sam (who also co-exec produces) is a far better actor than this material deserves and the only reasonable explanation as to why he took this was as a favour to his Eve's Bayou director Kasi Lemmons. Avoid at all costs and if you want a good Sam movie, go get Amos and Andrew.

"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!