The Caveman's Valentine (2001)

Director:

Kasi Lemmons

Writers (WGA):

George Dawes Green (novel)
George Dawes Green (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 September 2001 (Malaysia)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Music | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Romulus Ledbetter lives on the edge. The view is incredible.

Plot:

A cave-dwelling man sets out to track down the killer of a homeless boy and bring him to justice.

Plot Keywords:

New York City | Bryant Park New York City | Interracial Relationship | Artist | Mental Illness

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Samuel L. Jackson	...	Romulus
Colm Feore	...	Leppenraub
Ann Magnuson	...	Moira
Damir Andrei	...	Arnold
Aunjanue Ellis	...	Lulu
Tamara Tunie	...	Sheila
Peter MacNeill	...	Cork
Jay Rodan	...	Joey / No Face
Rodney Eastman	...	Matthew
Anthony Michael Hall	...	Bob
Kate McNeil	...	Betty
Leonard L. Thomas	...	Shaker / Greater No Face (as Leonard Thomas)
Joris Jarsky	...	Boy Toy / Andy (as Joris Jorsky)
Pierre Alcide	...	Toupee
Richard Fitzpatrick	...	Walter

Also Known As:

The Sign of the Killer (UK) (video title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violence and sexuality.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 | Malaysia:18PL | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:16 (VHS/DVD rating) | South Korea:18 | UK:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Germany:12 | Norway:15 | USA:R (PCA #37795)

Filming Locations:

Bryant Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Choreographer Otis Sallid originally tried professional dancers to play the moth-seraphs, but decided to switch to athletes instead, saying they had "the bodies, the mentality and the strength".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sheila wakes Romulus to tell him he's being misled, Moira turns and pulls the bedclothes up enough to show that she's wearing blue-checkered shorts. A short while later, when Romulus is getting out of bed, Moira is obviously naked.

Quotes:

Moira Leppenraub: [after Romulus shows up bruised and bloody] What happened to you?
Romulus Ledbetter: Your brother's hit men tried to run me over.
Moira Leppenraub: [laughs] Photographers do not have hit men, Romulus.
Romulus Ledbetter: Yeah? Well, you tell that to No-Face with the gun.
Moira Leppenraub: You're psychotic, aren't you?
Romulus Ledbetter: I... I have brain typhoons.
Moira Leppenraub: Brain typhoons?
Romulus Ledbetter: Swarms of moth-seraphs howl in my skull. Lies vex them.
Moira Leppenraub: Then you'll understand if I don't invite you in.
Romulus Ledbetter: Mm-hmm.

Soundtrack:

Regnava nel Silenzio from Lucia di Lammermoor

Two movies equal half of One

I think this movie made the same mistake that Mel Gibson's "Conspiracy Theory" did. We have a mentally unstable character who inhabits his own private world, and a good enough movie could have been made simply out of that and our hero's adventures. But instead a very conventional movie plot is tacked one which practically destroys it. In "Conspiracy Theory" it was an action movie, while in "Caveman's Valentine" it's a murder mystery. The delusional world we see only tantalizing glimpses of has some familiar elements, such as an arch nemesis that can control minds by energy rays, but also some unique variations such as the moth people or the building the "bad guy" lives in. However it's only bits, not something complete. Maybe I must have missed the part where it was explained, or how the Caveman fell from being a Julliard trained musician to a homeless person.

Samuel L. Jackson can carry the character as he usually does, making the caveman seem a kooky old codger one moment and a rampaging psychopath the next, but he can't bridge the gaps in character the script calls for. Whenever the murder mystery needs to be advanced or some plot point developed he becomes a little too lucid and rational, than on cue goes back to crazy. Overall "Caveman's Valentine" is an unhappy marriage of a made for TV level murder mystery and fragments of an insane man's existence, with too little of each good enough to make it work.