Send to KindleThe Raven - Movie Review
Rating: B-
Nevermore.
I have been a fan of Edgar Allan Poe since I was 12 years old. Read all his mysteries and all his poetry before I went to High School. Grew up within walking distance of Poe’s tiny cottage in the Bronx located at the junction of the Grand Concourse, Kingsbridge Rd and Valentine Avenue. Across the street was a bar called “Poe’s Cozy Nook”. It was anything but cozy yet were Poe alive when it existed he might very well have spent some time there, the man could drink. WWPD if confronted with this movie?
I would hope he would analyze the plus and minus points. On the plus side the costuming and sets were impeccable although the heavy handed use of ravens in far too many scenes was regrettable. John Cusack did an admirable job of acting. While he did not look as sickly and dissipated as Poe was by this time in his life, he did convey the passion, the genius and the tragic despondency of the man. Luke Evans who portrayed Detective Fields did a superb job and I have to admit he is r-e-a-l-l-y attractive. OTOH, the equally good looking Alice Eve as Poe’s heartthrob was utterly unconvincing. One is puzzled as to how Poe could have become smitten with her but I seem to remember him being not all that enlightened regarding the fairer sex and even today a large percentage of men lose their hearts to trophy wives. The rest of the cast were quite good in their roles. The language when Poe is speaking in a literary vein is nothing less than exquisite when delivered by Cusack.
Now for the negative side. The writing. The pace. The lack of cohesion. The inability to make you care enough for people that we should be caring for. The use of gore, albeit story appropriate gore, in place of clever plot. Someone and I suppose that should be the directors, producers and editors, needed to cut nonproductive scenes but failed to do so. Had they been willing to toss 30 minutes of ballast this movie might have floated but instead it floundered. Would I advise you to see it? At a bargain matinee maybe. I’ll give it a B-
by June K. Williams
V.P. Buzzy Multimedia Publishing
