The Caveman's Valentine (2001)

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

Director:

Kasi Lemmons

Writers:

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

Stars:

Samuel L. Jackson, Colm Feore, Ann Magnuson

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Romulus is mentally ill, a troglodyte in a New York City park. He's also a gifted composer and the father of a city cop. On Valentine's Day, a young man freezes in a tree near his cave. The police determine it's the accidental death of someone behaving bizarrely, but Romulus believes a friend of the dead youth who says that noted avant-garde photographer, David Leppenraub, murdered him. Romulus, urged on by hallucinations of his wife as a young woman, resolves to catch the killer and manages to be invited to Leppenraub's farm to play a new composition. Can Romulus hold it together long enough to get to the bottom of the death and also to make a breakthrough with his daughter?

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Plot Keywords:

juilliard school | title directed by female | manhattan new york city | delusion | chrysler building manhattan new york city | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Music | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some violence and sexuality

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 2001 (Malaysia)

Also Known As:

Az ösztönember

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$13,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$112,041, 4 March 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$687,194

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Franchise Pictures, Jersey Shore

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

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".

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Goofs

In one shot when Bob and Betty toast Romulus in his new suit, Bob's "z-ray" green drink is orange (though this may have been intentional, since it is unclear if the "z-rays" are simply in Romulus's mind).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Romulus Ledbetter: Don't you watch me! You think you're gonna crawl into my brain and see a show? That what I am? Is that what you think?
Social Worker: What I think, Mr. Ledbetter, is that the temperature is dropping.
Romulus Ledbetter: I got freezing temperatures all over my brain. And I got legends of angels up there! Like little moths, and they'll beat the hell out of you with their wings!

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Crazy Credits

For "Billie" 1955-1999 - "love you baby. always have. always will."

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Connections

Referenced in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.21 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Concerto for Two Violins, 2nd Movement
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach
Courtesy of Associated Production Music, LLC

User Reviews

This movie was a good surprise to me.

It's a very nice film with a suspenseful and mysterious plot about an insane homeless man (who once was a talented piano player) which solved by himself a crime scene. The plot starts being very strange and puzzling, because we watch the happenings through the insane guy's mind, and everything seems to be a bit confusing. However, that's the best part of the movie to me! It's mysterious, unexplained, bizarre and has some strange scenes (which pass only inside his mind) of pure delusion, and shot in dark and surreal way. Great cinematography, I must say! The acting is also brilliant, especially by Samuel L. Jackson, who plays the insane guy, ROMULUS LEDBETTER. He's an excellent actor and one more time he proves it, as a great part of this film is just his acting work! The film has a great soundtrack as well! I hadn't heard of this movie so far so it was a very good surprise to me.