“When a madman begins committing horrific murders inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s works, a young Baltimore detective joins forces with Poe to stop him from making his stories a reality.” –IMDb
The Raven
Starring John Cusack, Luke Evans, Brendan Gleeson and Alice Eve
Directed by James McTeigue
Written by Hannah Shakespeare and Ben Livingston
Box Office: $16,005,978 as of July 6, 2012 (USA)
Review
I had tried watching this film once before a few months ago. For some reason, I turned it off after about 10-15 minutes. When Howard Stern did an interview with John Cusack in 2012 while promoting The Raven, I fell in love with Cusack even more. I would never turn down an opportunity to watch Cusack. I also believe that every film deserves a second chance. Therefore, I gave The Raven another shot.
I love it. I have never read any of Edgar Allan Poe’s work (I am ashamed to say). Of course I had heard of him and of his stories; such as The Tell-Tale Heart. I never looked into his life or his background before either. While this crime/mystery/thriller incorporates a few facts about Poe’s life, it also took some “poetic license” (pun intended) with those facts. There are a few moments where I found the movie to be a tad slow. Although, it does keep you wondering what will happen in the end.
Set in Baltimore in the year 1849, a serial killer uses parts of Poe’s stories in his murders. In order to save Emily, (Poe’s current love played by Alice Eve), Poe needs to help track down the killer before it is too late. It is definitely possible to figure out who the killer is but only towards the end. And, only if you really pay attention to the details- otherwise you will be left guessing until the last ten minutes. A number of Poe’s stories are mentioned throughout the film and that alone made me want to read them.
John Cusack
Cusack does an amazing job at portraying Poe. Even though many people criticized him for not looking like Poe- “Why does he have a goatee?” etc. To that, I say, I’d rather have Cusack with a goatee, than no Cusack at all.
It was a nice surprise to see so many well known actors!
While many believed the acting was “uneven” I think it was overall well done. It’s not a film you should analyze too closely to begin with. It is just a film that’s fun to watch!
Once the film ended, I did a bit of research about Poe’s life. I had no idea he had gone through so many dark experiences. The fact that he is seen as one of the inventors of the detective fiction literary genres now makes a lot of sense. The way this film uses facts about Poe was actually really well done. This includes the mystery revolving around his death. There have been many theories surrounding this. From heart disease, epilepsy, cholera, rabies, and syphilis, to my favorite one, cooping.
Mini history lesson:
Cooping was a practice in the United States during the 19th century. Unwilling participants were forced to vote, often several times over, for a particular candidate in an election. Generally, these innocent bystanders would be grabbed off the street by so-called ‘cooping gangs’ or ‘election gangs’. These gangs were working on the payroll of a political candidate, and they would be kept in a room, called the “coop”. They would even be given alcohol in order for them to comply.
If they refused to cooperate, they would be beaten, and sometimes, killed. Often, their clothing would be changed to allow them to vote multiple times. Sometimes the victims would be forced to wear disguises. Wigs, fake beards, mustaches- whatever was needed to prevent them from being recognized by voting officials at polling stations.
Overall
Back to the film! All in all, I really enjoyed The Raven. I would recommend it to anyone. However, I would also say, that there were mixed reviews. For those who did not like it, well… their reviews were quite harsh. I often find myself not trusting people’s reviews right away. I’ll give any movie a chance, and I enjoy coming to my own conclusions.
Did you see The Raven? Did you enjoy it? Or, do you agree with those who say not to bother watching it? Let me know!