The Caveman's Valentine

The Caveman's Valentine
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kasi Lemmons
Produced by	Michael Shamberg Danny Devito Scott Frank Elie Samaha Stacey Sher Andrew Stevens
Screenplay by	George Dawes Green
Based on	The Caveman's Valentine by George Dawes Green
Starring	Samuel L. Jackson Colm Feore Aunjanue Ellis
Music by	Terence Blanchard
Cinematography	Amelia Vincent
Editing by	Terilyn A. Shropshire
Studio	Franchise Pictures Epsilon Motion Pictures Jersey Shore
Distributed by	Universal Focus
Release date(s)	March 2, 2001 (2001-03-02)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$13.5 million
Box office	$687,194

The Caveman's Valentine is a 2001 American mystery-drama film directed by Kasi Lemmons and starring Samuel L. Jackson based on George Dawes Green's novel of the same name. The film was released by Universal Focus, a subsidiary of Universal Studios and Focus Features.

Plot

A former family man and pianist studying at Juilliard music school, Romulus Ledbetter (Samuel L. Jackson), now suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and lives in a cave in Inwood Park, New York. He believes that a man named Cornelius Gould Stuyvesant is controlling the world with rays from the top of the Chrysler Building, and that his mind is inhabited by moth-like seraphs. On Valentine’s Day, he discovers the frozen body of a young man, Scotty Gates (Sean MacMahon), left in a tree outside his cave. The police, including Romulus's daughter Lulu (Aunjanue Ellis), dismiss the man's death as accident however, a homeless ex-lover of Scotty tells Romulus that he was murdered by the famous photographer David Leppenraub (Colm Feore). Determined to discover the truth behind Scotty’s death and prove his worth to his daughter, Romulus manages to get an invitation through a former friend to perform one of his compositions at Leppenraub’s farm. What unfolds thereafter is a twisted tale of mystery, deception, and a man's struggle against his own mind.

Cast

• Samuel L. Jackson - Romulus Ledbetter
• Colm Feore - David Leppenraub
• Aunjanue Ellis - Officer Lulu Ledbetter
• Tamara Tunie - Sheila Ledbetter
• Jay Rodan - Joey Peasley
• Ann Magnuson - Moira Leppenraub
• Anthony Michael Hall - Bob
• Sean MacMahon - Scotty Gates

Release

Box office

Domestic summary:

• Budget: $13.5 million
• Opening Weekend: $112,041 (16 theaters)
• Widest release: 59 theaters
•  % of total gross: 16.3%
• Close date: June 14, 2001 (15 weeks in release)
• Total U.S. gross: $687,194
  • Worldwide gross: $687,194

Critical reception

The Caveman's Valentine received a 45% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a general consensus that the film "has an intriguing premise, but falls flat under the weight of its ambition." On Metacritic, which uses an average of critics' reviews, the film has 44 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Awards

In 2002, Tamara Tunie was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female.

External links

• The Caveman's Valentine at the Internet Movie Database
• The Caveman's Valentine at AllRovi
• The Caveman's Valentine at Box Office Mojo
• The Caveman's Valentine at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Caveman's Valentine at Metacritic