The Raven

My reaction to the news that John Cusack would be playing Edgar Allen Poe is very similar to Matthew McConaughey’s famous character Wooderson’s reaction to high school girls in Dazed and Confused.

“Well alright alright alright alright. The older I get John Cusack stays the same.”

Cusack is a mercurial enigma who is always Cusackian. Smarter than you, taller than you and quirkier than all the characters on Community. He pops up in random films (Con Air, Must Love Dogs, 2012) and has starred in a plethora of wonderful movies (High Fidelity, Serendipity, Gross Pointe Blank, Being John Malkovich, Say Anything, Better off Dead).

When I first saw the trailer I knew the film wouldn’t do well. The Raven is not a film for the masses. It features an oddball celebrity playing a famous author who hunts a serial killer. This movie is meant for Cusack fans and the unlucky few who wander into this movie expecting an action packed gore fest.

The Raven is a strange film. The plot is uneven and occasionaly left me saying “huh?” It moves along quickly but you never once forget that you are watching John Cusack on screen. I believe this movie would have been much better had it focused on a time traveling Cusack battling a serial killer with his karate, intelligence and Jeremy Piven.

The plot revovles around Poe trying to find a copycat killer who has kidnapped his lovely girlfriend played by the nice Alice Eve.

Poe teams up with Luke Evans and together they scour Baltimore with odd accents in an attempt to squash the manical menace. The movie is never boring and slightly enjoyable fluff. Cusack gives it his all despite given nothing to do. He does say this line though:

“If I would have known people would copy my work I would have written more Erotica.”

The Raven is a TNT, AMC and FX film. It will play during the day in the background. You can walk in on it at any time and you will know what it going on.

Watch The Raven. Forget about The Raven. Enjoy the Cusackian presence.