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Caveman's Valentine, The
Universal Focus

Caveman's Valentine, The reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 44 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.4 out of 10
based on 27 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 5 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for language, some violence and sexuality

Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Aunjanue Ellis, Ann Magnuson, Tamara Tunie, Anthony Michael Hall, and Colm Feore

In this penetrating and touching neo-Gothic thriller, Samuel L. Jackson delivers a powerful performance as Romulus Ledbetter, a man caught on the sharp edge between genius and madness. (Universal Focus)


GENRE(S): Drama  
WRITTEN BY: George Dawes Green (also novel)  
DIRECTED BY: Kasi Lemmons  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: July 17, 2001 
Video: July 17, 2001 
Theatrical: March 2, 2001 
RUNNING TIME: 105 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80
Washington Post Rita Kempley
An intriguing, visually startling murder mystery that showcases the virtuosity of Samuel L. Jackson.
Read Full Review
75
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Holds less water as a mystery because its plot holes - and choppy pacing - make it seem as disconnected from reality as its hero. But Jackson is so frighteningly effective, and affecting, as Romulus that you're sucked in anyway.
75
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
So suggestively atmospheric is Amelia Vincent's cinematography and Robin Standefer's art direction that mood -- and of course Jackson's performance -- sustains the movie.
75
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
To watch Samuel L. Jackson in the role is to realize again what a gifted actor he is, how skilled at finding the right way to play a character who, in other hands, might be unplayable.
Read Full Review
70
Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
If anyone can sell the idea of ... some psycho "Sherlock Holmes," it's Samuel L. Jackson.
Read Full Review
67
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
There is pleasure in giving oneself up to the gusty swirls of the film's imagery, and especially to the handsome grandeur of its star.
Read Full Review
67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
Never quite shakes itself free of the tired cliche that street people are quirky, sometimes cute, and somehow privy to a spiritual purity lost to us social folk.
Read Full Review
63
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
The movie loses its magic by the time the solution is revealed.
63
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
The details of the story, crucial in a picture that's at least partly a mystery, remain a tangled blur.
Read Full Review
60
The New York Times A.O. Scott
Works as everything but a mystery, yet it is intriguing in a number of ways. And the ending is as resolute as you might have hoped for. It lets Romulus and the movie retain their integrity.
Read Full Review
60
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Overall it's a frustratingly uneven movie, delicate at one moment and bluntly obvious the next.
Read Full Review
60
Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson
Deserves an A for ambition, but the final product is a pastiche of too many predecessors.
Read Full Review
50
Boston Globe Jay Carr
Dramatically speaking, The Caveman's Valentine is a dead end.
50
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Offers a dazzling showcase for Samuel L. Jackson.
Read Full Review
50
Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
From the start, this movie sets the bar high -- then, unfortunately, runs smack into it.
50
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
More psychological realism and less showy cinema would have made this offbeat melodrama more memorable.
Read Full Review
42
Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
An unsteady and uneven film, which bangs up against its ambitions gracelessly and distractingly.
40
Slate David Edelstein
You couldn't ask for a better pair of wild eyes than Jackson's.
Read Full Review
40
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
As impressive as Jackson is and as thought-provoking as director Kasi Lemmons' movie is, it's ultimately satisfying neither as a genre piece nor as an art film.
Read Full Review
38
USA Today Staff [Not Credited]
Calling a cave of rocks home while spouting invective worthy of the Juilliard attendee he once was, homeless-by-choice Samuel L. Jackson worms his way into one of the least compelling mysteries in years.
30
Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
It hovers somewhere in that never-never land of movies that try to do too much and don't quite live up to any of their ambitions.
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30
Chicago Reader Reece Pendleton
Kasi Lemmons directed this tepid thriller, whose only genuinely creepy aspect is its cavalier and uninformed use of mental illness and classical music to heighten the meager suspense.
Read Full Review
30
Film.com Robert Horton
It may have a good liberal conscience, and genuine sympathy for the rare perspective of a homeless person, but this movie is a fundamentally sentimental exercise.
Read Full Review
25
San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann
A wildly implausible thriller.
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20
Time Richard Corliss
Despite Jackson's typically bravura turn, this Valentine massacre marks a step backward for the gifted director of Eve's Bayou.
20
LA Weekly Ernest Hardy
Especially disappointing that Lemmons, who in "Eve's Bayou" gave us insightful glimpses into the emotional world of black adults, has lost her balance, elevating formula over revelation.
Read Full Review
10
Village Voice Amy Taubin
Valentine isn't exploitative or trendy in the manner of so many indie films. Rather, it seems like the kind of art film that might have been dreamed up by a feverish high schooler.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Paul D. gave it a 3:
A gppd performance by Samuel Jackson, but the movie is disjointed and so unbelievable that it doesn't work as either mystery or character study.

Ellen A. gave it a 10:
Unbelievably fabulous, one of the best and most original movies I have ever seen. It's not guilty of black exploitation as every other major motion picture seems to be that stars black actors and actresses. A classic. Brilliant.

Olen L. gave it an 8:
The Caveman's Valentine is a movie about a crazy homeless man who happens to stumble upon a murder. It is not a murder mystery involving a crazy homeless man. The regular life of Samuel Jackson's character could have carried this film alone.

Warwick A. gave it a 9:
I found this movie challenging and engaging. The direction was always interesting and exciting. I thoroughly enjoyed the film on its many levels. I think the critics of this film have missed the boat... Jackson is brilliant as Romulus. Inspired casting! I haven't enjoyed a film as much as this in a long time. It reminded me of "The Red Violin" because of it's intricacy and intelligence.

Michael F. gave it a 7:
This is a good solid film that delivers the thrills and chills and art. The only flaw with this film is that it becomes just another murder mystery. At the beginning it has this mentally ill man (brilliantly performed by Sam Jackson) who stumbles upon a body. This movie is mysterious and at times clever. There is no doubt that this movie is original, that it is, but towards the end it just loses the balance between murder mystery and a character piece, if only those two could have joined forces.

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