The Raven (2012)This was one movie I actually wanted to see when it came out but being housebound kind of puts a damper on those kinds of activities. If I go, it's got to be for something the hubby really wants to see too, cause it's really hard for me and not worth it unless he can enjoy it. I love John Cusack in anything he acts in, and of course I'm also a fan of Edgar Allen Poe... that being said I was skeptical about this movie since knowing Poe's history I found it highly unlikely that he would have the strength or the cunning to act like a detective in this mystery/thriller.
I found this to be very enjoyable however and worth a look so if you haven't seen it and want to, you might want to skip this review. This movie explores the 'real' reason Poe was found delirious on a park bench and died a few days later in a hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. In real life this was unfortunately his true end - although the cause of death has been debated since they really didn't have ways of detecting these things back in 1849. So this movie tries to give Poe a heroic end to his rather sad life at the age of 40. Like most geniuses in the past Poe was not recognized for his wonderful works until long after his death. In fact his most famous poem that this movie is named after sold for only $9 ($272.73 in today's dollars) and that's pretty much why he was always broke and in debt.
In this movie, horrific murders are discovered and it is determined that someone is copying Poe's stories in these gruesome deaths. He's asked if death occurs a lot in his works and he had to admit that it does. The inspector whose name is Fields then decides to ask Poe to assist them since he knows about every action the killer may take, especially after the woman Poe loves, Emily, has been kidnapped and the killer has been leaving notes insinuating that if Poe doesn't write about his exploits he will kill her.
The cloak and dagger moves along with the almost Sherlock-like actions and deductions made by both Poe and the inspector seem pretty far fetched and the movie slows down quite a bit but it is still a neat piece of acting and special effects, and I was kind of wondering if Cusack could pull off playing the morose and always drunk Poe, but he did it beautifully and that helps us through the endless clues and running around the two do to save the beautiful Emily (that part is fictional, he never pursued anyone named Emily).
The killer turns out to be Ivan, a typesetter working for the newspaper that publishes Poe's works. Ivan reveals to him that he will free Emily if Poe writes a sort of final story and takes poison. He does and Ivan leaves, but not before telling Poe he plans to kill an author by the name of Jules Verne in France. He leaves without revealing Emily's hiding place and Poe must use the last of his strength to figure it's a part of 'The Tell-Tale Heart' and gets her out just in time. He then wanders to the park and waits on the bench for the poison to finish its work. This is the movie's way of trying to explain why Poe in real life was found incoherent on a park bench and died in the hospital a few days later.
The movie ends as the inspector looks at Poe lying dead in the hospital and the doctor tells him that he kept repeating 'tell Fields his name is Reynolds' (the name Ivan told him he would be using in France). In real life it is fact that in the hospital Poe kept repeating the name 'Reynolds' up until he died.
The last scene is in France as Ivan gets into his carriage. He is met by Fields, who is carrying a pistol.
This movie moved a little slower than I would have liked, however it was well made and certainly worth a look.
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