I first heard about this film before Christmas. To be honest, I wasn’t excited at first. John Cusack, who has been pretty ordinary in his recent offerings, playing famed American author and depressing bastard, Edgar Allen Poe, searching for a killer emulating the methods of those in his works. Sounds riveting. But when I heard V for Vendetta director James McTeigue was involved, I gave it a chance.
“It could be good”, I told myself as I walked into the cinema at 6:30 yesterday evening. Here’s what I thought.
Set in Baltimore, Maryland in the mid-19th century, The Raven, named after, perhaps, the protagonist’s most famous poem, tells a fictionalised account of the last three days of the life of one of America’s most famous crime authors and poets.
John Cusack plays the troubled writer, wandering through the streets and bars of Baltimore; a has-been, whose best work is behind him. He relies, arrogantly, on his reputation to get him a drink and when that fails he resorts to swigging the drinks of others.
This side of Poe is offset against his caring nature which reveals itself in the form of his love for Emily, played by Alice Eve, the daughter of Colonel Hamilton (Brendan Gleeson), a rich member of the Baltimore upper-class, who won’t permit the relationship. He looks down on Poe, doesn’t recognise him as a suitable partner for his daughter.
Then, a bloody double-murder occurs in the exact fashion of one described in one of Poe’s gruesome tales. Detective Emmet Fields, played by Luke Evans, is brought in to try and solve the case and subsequently, everyone becomes involved in the efforts to catch the killer.
The film follows the Gothic trail laid by the majority of Poe’s work. It works from a very dark pallet in its portrayal of the world Poe inhabits. Darkness oozes from every corner, only faint, flickering candle lights illuminate the rooms and the colourless moonlight; the streets. While this visual style is typical of these Victorian-era chilling crime films, here it feels stale, somehow.
The movie is highly stylised from beginning to end, courtesy of V for Vendetta director James McTeigue. From the slick opening and end credits to the token ‘through-the-keyhole’ and slow-mo bullet shots, found in most commercial films nowadays, each effect seems contrived and mismatched with the tone of the film. All this, without even mentioning the CGI blood splatters. It is as if the filmmakers were not confident enough with their story that they felt the need to throw in these effects to keep the audience satisfied. The result, to me, are jarring, off-kilter interruptions to an already un-engaging film, which would have benefitted from a far more simple visual style.
As for the acting, Cusack, Gleeson and Evans all do quite well, despite being dragged down by the stale, staged, ‘who-dunnit?’ format. Alice Eve is wooden and clunky, also, perhaps because of the material. The biggest disappointment, however is the performance of the director, McTeigue, who fails to deliver what could have been a substantially more engaging and infinitely more chilling movie.
Verdict: I was disappointed at this. When I first heard about it, I thought it could be good, given the talent involved, but with the contrived and excessive gore and special effects, ordinary performances and vapid screenplay, I wouldn’t recommend it if you want to see something good.
Dir. James McTeigue
Written by Ben Livingston, Hannah Shakespeare
Synopsis: 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.
Stars: John Cusack, Alice Eve and Luke Evans
Run-time: 1h 51mins
