The Raven | A UthMag Movie Review
Opening Credits
‘The Raven’ s a fictionalized account of the last days of Edgar Allan Poe’s life. Edgar Allan Poe is probably one of my all-time favorite authors and poets. Ever since I was a kid, I stayed up late at night reading his eerie poems and tales until I fell asleep. I would probably take that as the main reason I have a twisted and dark imagination and perception. (And Tim Burton of course)
American Poet and Writer, 'Edgar Allan Poe'
Plot
Edgar Allan Poe was an American poet/author, who was born in the early 1800s, best known for his works of mystery, horror and macabre. His life had been filled with a series of sad and sorrowful events. (which was also mentioned in the movie itself by one of the characters) He was orphaned at a young age, he couldn’t complete university because he went broke, was alcoholic and lost his wife due to tuberculosis. His death is fictionalized and linked with the movie’s plot, which I found genius. It is really difficult to create a fanfiction about a real person’s death that would leave the audience stunned. Poe’s death remained a mystery even though his body’s examiners believe that there were a bunch of reasons behind his death such as alcoholism, rabies, cholera and epilepsy to name a few, resulting in death at the early age of 40.
Based on one of his most famous works, ‘The Raven’ is an American thriller about a murderer who uses Poe’s works of art as inspiration to kill people. Poe is portrayed by actor John Cusack, which I think played really well, in terms of dialogue and emotion. The role was previously offered to Joaquin Phoenix, who turned it down. Alice Eve plays as Emily Hamilton, Poe’s love interest and Luke Evans stars as Inspector Emmett Fields, the head of the investigators pursuing the murderer. The role of the inspector was supposed to be Jeremy Renner’s, who turned the role down for MI4: Ghost Protocol.
- Still Of ‘The Raven’, L-R Alice Eve and John Cusack
End roll
I really liked the movie because it was a while since I had watched a mystery-thriller with such a dark setting. A reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes described this movie as “Saw meets Sherlock Holmes”. It was something different, yet similar to Sleepy Hollow. The critical reception of this movie have been mixed but we all know that how good (or bad) any movie is is based on the personal taste of the person watching. I found the movie entertaining, dark and mysterious until the very end. The cinematography was brilliant, the scenes were dark and Gothic and the story was well-paced with a surprising ending. Oh! And the acting was great. However, the only thing I found weak was the lack of suspects. I like a movie where I can solve the mysteries before the movie ends. In this case, I thought everyone was a suspect. :b
- The Raven Movie Poster
Perspective
The movie is not available in the Theaters anymore and you will have to wait a bit for the DVD /Blu-ray. May be you could download it, grab a popcorn, watch the movie at night by yourself (or with your family or friends if you get scared easily) and enjoy!
UthMag Rating: 3/5
MPAA Rating:
Rated R for bloody violence and grisly images
Here is a look at the trailer…
If you have watched it before, how did you find it? Drop a comment below and tell us what you thought about it!
