Year of Release: 1992
Director: Brian De Palma
Starring: John Lithgow, Lolita Davidovich, Steven Bauer, Frances Sternhagen, Gregg Henry, Tom Bower, Mel Harris, Teri Austin, Gabrielle Carteris, Barton Heyman, Amanda Pombo
Genre: Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review:
Following the debacle and critical lambasting of "The Bonfire of the Vanities", director Brian De Palma quickly bounced back with a much smaller in scale film, returning to his roots with "Raising Cain". The film follows the story of Carter Nix, a respected child psychologist, who is having marriage issues. He's very focused on his daughter, but more as a research subject. His wife Jenny in the meantime, is having an affair with an ex-boyfriend, something Carter soon discovers. Jenny plans to end the marriage soon enough, but she doesn't realize Carter has multiple personalities, and one of them is a violent one by the name of Cain (he also has the personalities going by the names of Josh and Margo, a nanny). As the Cain personality takes over, he tries to kill Jenny, who survives and confronts him about his deeds, and the whereabouts of Amy, their daughter. As more information is uncovered about Carter/Cain's past, it's revealed he was abused by his father growing up, himself a therapist, who supposedly committed suicide when confronted with his unusual research processes.
"Raising Cain" is a somewhat forgotten film in Brian De Palma's lengthy career. It followed a particularly high profile debacle from "The Bonfire of the Vanities", but it also cemented his comeback, which came in 1993 with the great "Carlito's Way". "Raising Cain" has the DNA of what has made his best films so indelible, namely the multiple personalities who are at dissonance with themselves (something that for instance worked so well in "Dressed to Kill"), and of course, the progressive disclosure and the heightened suspense that the director effectively constructs. "Raising Cain" is somewhat less effective due to the script being less effective, introducing a plethora of personalities, while also making the supporting characters less dimensional and interesting than his most reward films (the fantastic Nancy Allen for instance in both "Dressed to Kill" and "Blow Out" made a strong mark in both narratives, something that Lolita Davidovich, with all her talent, can't do with a somewhat underwritten role). Independently of its shortcomings, a film by Brian De Palma is always enticing, impeccably shot, and this one in particular, as a central performance from the wonderful John Lithgow, always worth watching. A minor effort, but still worth watching, from a great director.
"Raising Cain" is a somewhat forgotten film in Brian De Palma's lengthy career. It followed a particularly high profile debacle from "The Bonfire of the Vanities", but it also cemented his comeback, which came in 1993 with the great "Carlito's Way". "Raising Cain" has the DNA of what has made his best films so indelible, namely the multiple personalities who are at dissonance with themselves (something that for instance worked so well in "Dressed to Kill"), and of course, the progressive disclosure and the heightened suspense that the director effectively constructs. "Raising Cain" is somewhat less effective due to the script being less effective, introducing a plethora of personalities, while also making the supporting characters less dimensional and interesting than his most reward films (the fantastic Nancy Allen for instance in both "Dressed to Kill" and "Blow Out" made a strong mark in both narratives, something that Lolita Davidovich, with all her talent, can't do with a somewhat underwritten role). Independently of its shortcomings, a film by Brian De Palma is always enticing, impeccably shot, and this one in particular, as a central performance from the wonderful John Lithgow, always worth watching. A minor effort, but still worth watching, from a great director.
0 comments:
Post a Comment