Many mystery movies have featured protagonists who weren’t detectives. In fact, some of the most famous examples of this genre used atypical snoops. For example, Hitchcock famously utilized the amateur detectives in films like Rear Window and North By Northwest.
However, 2001’s The Caveman’s Valentine takes this concept to a different level. While Hitchcock put fairly ordinary people in unusual circumstances, Valentine works with an odd protagonist. Romulus Ledbetter (Samuel L. Jackson) was once a top-notch musician who studied at Julliard. For reasons unknown, though, he’s had some rough times over the past few years as mental illness took hold of him. Now he’s one of the legions of homeless folks who inhabit Manhattan. Romulus lives in a Central Park cave, a fact that begets his nickname of “Caveman”.
Early in the film, Romulus discovers a frozen dead body stuck in a tree outside his cave. Although this appears to be a simple case of exposure, Romulus immediately declares that it’s a murder and he contacts his police officer daughter. Rom blames the crime on “Stuyvesant”, the omnipotent evil power who Romulus feels is behind quite a lot of evil. However, matters complicate when a local drifter with whom Rom’s acquainted states that he’s sure a prominent photographer named Leppenraub (Colm Feore) killed the boy. Of course, no one takes Rom’s declarations seriously, so he decides to investigate the crime himself.
During the rest of the film, Romulus depends on the kindness of strangers and semi-acquaintances to further his investigation. Why does he care? Mainly because of his obsession with Stuyvesant; Rom assumes that Leppenraub is nothing more than a pawn of Rom’s unseen nemesis. Romulus gets help from a well-meaning yuppie named Bob (Anthony Michael Hall) and reconnects with some old Julliard colleagues to get closer to Leppenraub and the truth.
While Valentine scores points for its unusual protagonist and its attempts to delve into the world of mental illness, it ultimately lacks much depth or conviction. On the positive side, director Kasi Lemmons fills her second film - after 1997’s well-received Eve’s Bayou - with a lot of compelling photographic imagery. While I thought her vision of Rom’s chaotic brain seemed excessively theatrical, she still made the movie quite interesting from a visual standpoint, and the scenes in which Rom went over the edge were vivid ones.
I’ve been a fan of Jackson’s work for years, and for the most part, I liked his performance as Romulus. Most of the problems I found related to the writing of the character itself and weren’t the responsibility of Jackson. At times, he seemed to be excessively broad and theatrical, but he committed himself to a form of portrayal that was generally consistent and powerful. Did I believe Jackson as someone with Rom’s problems? Not really, but he made the role provocative and charismatic. And if anyone cares, he shows his butt in one scene. Actually, if you look closely, you might get a glimpse of Samuel L.’s Jackson, though I really had no desire to further investigate this possibility.
Valentine’s problems really relate to the script itself. For one, while the concept of a homeless nutbag protagonist was interesting, I really didn’t like the fact that he was a fallen genius. This seems similar to the theme of Shine, and although it may make the main character more interesting on the surface, I thought it ultimately meant that the story was less compelling. Rom’s past makes things too convenient for him, and he never really seemed like much of an underdog; so many resources were available to him that much of his investigation came without a challenge. Romulus would have been much more interesting had he been a run of the mill crazy homeless dude, not some talent who fell into disrepair.
Rom’s past also meant that the script had an extreme number of coincidences and easy rides. His daughter’s a cop? A past buddy from school just happens to have a party planned at which Leppenraub will be honored? These and other elements fall into place far too simply, and they make the story seem fairly unrealistic. The tale also hinges on a lot of improbable aspects to let it move. Out of nowhere, Rom has a brief affair with Leppenraub’s sister Moira (Ann Magnuson). Why? Because it works for the plot. It makes almost no sense, but the story does what the story needs to do to push it forward.
One other flawed aspect of the film relates to its portrayal of the mentally ill. We get the feeling that Rom’s choosing to behave the way he does, as though he could just be normal if he elected to do so. The movie never really takes a deep look at the world of the schizophrenic, and it ends up with only a very thin and stereotypical idea of that existence. Romulus sometimes comes across more like an eccentric than a true nut, and his life lacks the sense of struggle.
It’s the failure to convey a feeling of reality that really lets down Valentine. Within this DVD’s production notes, Romulus is described as someone who’s been “discarded by society because he’s unstable”. Huh? All through this movie we see people who attempt to help Rom. The film starts with folks from Social Services who try to give him a hand, and Rom’s daughter Lulu (Aunjanue Ellis from Men Of Honor urges him to seek support. Then there’s Bob, and I’m sure that Moira and some of the others would be more than glad to give him a lift. If anything, Valentine suffers because of the surfeit of resources available to Romulus; he isn’t one of the many forgotten homeless.
The Caveman’s Valentine had potential, and the final product was a generally interesting film. However, it fell short of its prospects due to too many detective story clichés and a general sense of unreality. It painted a cartoon portrait of the mentally ill and it eventually sank beneath some Scooby Doo conventions. Valentine has enough unusual qualities to make it watchable, and Samuel L. Jackson’s always worth a look, but as a whole, I thought it was a lackluster piece.
The DVD:
The Caveman’s Valentine appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this single-sided, dual-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. Although the picture displayed a few very minor concerns, overall I thought it was an excellent piece of work.
Sharpness always appeared terrific. At all times, the movie featured a very concise and detailed image that betrayed no problems. I witnessed virtually no signs of softness at any point during the film; it came across as nicely crisp and detailed. It was also a very tight presentation, as I noticed virtually no examples of moiré effects or jagged edges.
Some minor print flaws appear. I saw an occasional black speckle and a couple of small nicks, but nothing substantial interferes with the picture. Note that although Valentine featured some very stylized photography, the defects I observed did not appear to fall within the intentional realm. Some movies - such as Three Kings and Saving Private Ryan - provide “flaws” that are meant to be there. I didn’t think that the concerns I witnessed fell into this category; they seemed to be manifestations of issues found on the source material.
In keeping with the movie’s stylized appearance, Valentine included some vivid hues, and the DVD replicated these well. Much of the film worked with a naturalistic palette, but when we got any representation of Rom’s inner mind or his perception of the world, matters would take a different turn, and that was when we usually saw the more lively colors. Green really came across the best, though I suppose “best” is a matter of interpretation; I found those tones to look appropriately and wickedly putrid. Ultimately, colors seemed very solid throughout the film.
Black levels were also quite strong. The movie boasted nicely deep and rich tones, and shadow detail seemed to be accurate. Low-light sequences came across as appropriately heavy but never excessively thick or opaque; even the most dimly-lit scenes were still quite visible and accurate. In the end, The Caveman’s Valentine provided a terrific visual experience.
I also was quite pleased with the film’s soundtracks. The DVD included both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 mixes. Although DTS tracks used to usually hold the edge over DD editions, that gap had greatly narrowed over recent months. In fact, of all the dual DD/DTS DVDs I’ve seen in 2001, very few showed differences that I found to be significant; I thought that the DTS mix of The Crow: Salvation outdid the DD track, but otherwise, I believe that all my recent comparisons appeared find virtually identical audio.
Although the tracks of Valentine also were fairly similar, I must acknowledge that I preferred the DTS mix. Both tracks were quite strong, but the DTS edition offered a smoother and richer listening experience. Bass response seemed to be a little tighter, and the soundfield blended together more cleanly.
While I definitely favored the DTS track, I still didn’t think the differences were significant enough to warrant separate audio grades. I almost split the two, but in the end, I didn’t feel that the DTS track quite made it into “A” territory, and the DD mix was too good for a “B+” rating. The former’s a high “A-“, while the latter’s a low “A-“, but I feel “A-“ best describes both.
In any case, I was very satisfied with the audio heard on both tracks. Valentine featured a very full soundfield that surprised me; I didn’t expect so much activity from this kind of semi-indie film. However, Rom’s psychoses really allowed the track to open up and provide some effective audio. During more ordinary scenes, I heard a lot of nice ambient sound, as the environment seemed to be accurate and clean. When we went into Rom’s episodes, however, the mix took on a life of its own and became a more assaultive and demonstrative piece. All five channels provided sound that seemed well-placed and nicely integrated.
In addition to a variety of effects, Rom’s attacks allowed for a lot of speech to come from unusual places. None of this was meant to be clearly understood, but the “voices inside his head” cropped up all around me as I watched the film, and these offered a compelling aspect of the mix. Terence Blanchard’s score also worked well. The forward channels provided solid stereo separation, and the surrounds contributed acceptable reinforcement of the work. When Romulus played the piano, I thought the mild echo added neatly to the sense of atmosphere.
Audio quality was similarly strong. Dialogue appeared to be warm and distinct, and I heard no signs of edginess or problems related to intelligibility. Music was bright and dynamic and the score always showed positive range; I never thought that any instrumentation appeared to be constricted or flat. Effects were clean and accurate, and they became appropriately hyper-realistic when Rom’s state demanded that. Ultimately, I thought that the soundtracks of The Caveman’s Valentine neatly complemented the film.
Although The Caveman’s Valentine doesn’t appear as part of Universal’s excellent “Collector’s Edition” series, it does include a few decent extras. First we find a running audio commentary from director Kasi Lemmons and editor Terilyn Shropshire. Both women were recorded together for this screen-specific affair.
I found this to be a somewhat dry and lackluster piece, though it improved as it progressed. Lemmons and Shropshire make for a rather subdued pair, and it takes them a while to warm up to the task. Much of the track provides the usual praise that dominates many commentaries; we hear how great everyone was throughout the piece. When the program veers toward more informative matters, the pair tend to stick with technical issues. In that regard, I learned a fair amount of moderately compelling notes about these aspects of the process. They also get into some storytelling choices made along the way. Overall, the commentary remained a bit flat, but anyone who enjoyed the movie should also find useful facts in this track.
The DVD’s other big draw is a package of four Deleted Scenes. These last between 22 seconds and eight minutes, 18 seconds for a total of 16 minutes and 39 seconds worth of material. Frankly, none of these exactly rocked my world, as they seemed to be fairly redundant for the most part. The last sequence was the most unusual, as it offered a long take of the seraph moths that inhabit Rom’s head. I can’t say I thought this was terribly fascinating to watch, but it was a nice addition nonetheless.
Lastly, some DVD standards round out the package. We get the movie’s original theatrical trailer plus some text Production Notes. Other than the silly statement about how Romulus was “discarded”, these were pretty interesting and informative. The Cast and Filmmakers area provides minor biographies for director Lemmons plus actors Jackson, Magnuson, Ellis, Tamara Tunie, Feore, and Hall.
While The Caveman’s Valentine provides an interesting twist on an old mystery formula, some consistent flaws caused it to be less than satisfying. The movie featured a typically interesting performance from Samuel L. Jackson and vivid visuals, but an absence of reality and a lack of logic meant that it ultimately failed to become terribly stimulating. The DVD offers very strong picture and sound plus a small mix of decent extras. If you’re in the mood for a semi-quirky mystery, you might want to give The Caveman’s Valentine a look, but the overall product was somewhat lackluster.
