On Charlie Rose, Quentin made the comment that 'Raising Cain' essentially works to annoy the audience and NOT pay them off. I don't really see how it differs from De Palma's other thrillers, though. It had the same kind of shock ending as a lot of the others, and tied things up as neatly as these kinds of movies can. Overall, I found it quite satisfying.
I read in other places as well that De Palma tries to rib his loyal fanbase with this film, but I don't see it.
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Tarantino is annoying.
shareYeah I agree with you guys. I didn't find it unsatisfying or annoying at all. I just revisited this movie after 5 years or so and I love it now more than ever. John Lithgow is just so much fun to watch when he slips into the Cain persona. There's so much black humour in the film and it's stylishly done with a terrific score by Pino. I think its well past due for a re-evalution. I hope De Palma returns to the thriller soon. I also really liked his Femme Fatale.
share*SPOILERS*
I agree with Tarantino. The film is great, but it DOESN'T pay off the audience. Take the ending, for instance. In a lesser movie, you would have seen Lithgow kill the wife, and run off with the kid. OR he would have been stopped before he could do anything to his wife, probably by the boyfriend. But no, De Palma ends the movie on the image of Lithgow in drag, staring at the camera as if saying, "What do YOU think I'm gonna do?" You never get to see it. De Palma wanted to confuse the audience to manipulate them, as evidenced by the many people who didn't "get" the film. I really enjoy the absurdity of it all.
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Lesser known film of the Carrie-Scarface-Untouchables-Carlito's Way group that built DePalma's fanbase.
It was a good but not great attempt at multiples or mind controlled trauma bonding that originated in the cross dressing performance of Michael Caine. Keep in mind that many actors attempted to jump start careers in DePalma films (Pacino was fading when Scarface came), and DePalma got great actors in the last half of their careers (Connery in Untouchables), or budding stars in bit roles (Viggo Mortensen appearing in Carlito's Way).
Least distinguished film of his career along with the forgettable Joe Piscopo-Danny DeVito film, Wise Guys.
"Quentin made the comment that 'Raising Cain' essentially works to annoy the audience and NOT pay them off."
Ironically, that was my reaction to 'Kill Bill'.
Well, Tarantino has the right to his own opinion. But it also depends on what he meant exactly. If he is openly criticizing De Palma, well I don't think he deserves it, especially from Tarantino who was partially influenced by him. If he is not criticizing De Palma but just pointing out that he thinks it was De Palma's goal to play with the audience in that sense, well that's different but even in that case I don't agree with him. Besides, Raising Cain is far from the only movie of his filmography that "plays" with his audience, which is part of De Palma's style for many of his movies. Personally, I had a lot of fun with Raising Cain and I don't see any intention of De Palma to "annoy" his audience at all. John Lithgow alone makes this film a must-watch in my opinion, as it is easily one of his best performance; he is incredibly effective and wonderful as different characters basically. I would even say Raising Cain is one of my favourite De Palma movies, along with Carrie, Obsession, Scarface, The Untouchables and Carlito's Way, plus I have a soft spot for Body Double as well.
Bill Foster: I'm the bad guy?...How did that happen?
Like the late Pauline Kael Tarantino is a die-hard aficionado of De Palma and has on occasion praised, or at least defended, even his most lambasted works like 'The Bonfire of the Vanities'. 'Raising Cain' is nowhere near De Palma's most lambasted film so I'd be very surprised if Tarantino's observation was meant as a face-value criticism.
shareI have a hard spot for Body Double! (nudge nudge, wink wink)
shareTarantino... now there's an analytical mind.
'facts are stupid things' - Ronald Reagan
There's a conversation in one of the Projections books between Tarantino and De Palma where Tarantino asks him if this was the intention, and De Palma says that he is absolutely correct.
shareI loved DePalma in the 80s and saw this in the theatre when it came out. It was bad then and it's still bad (just watched it).
Terrible plot that doesn't make sense at all. It had a great premise and a great cast but failed at every turn.
And did DePalma even bother with a dialect coach. I've been around enough Norwegians to know they don't sound like the Norwegian doctor (who sounded more German).
raising cain is one of de palmas best imo. right up w sisters, body double, blow out & dressed to kill.
and no i dnt think de palma bothered w a dialect coach. all the little nuances like the dr being Norwegian and the nickname bumbsy just came from him and lithgow talking over breakfast every morning before the shoot that day.
and i horribly disagree about the plot not making any sense. Its meant to screw with you, but its understandable and i understand what tarantino is saying. plus he loves de palma.
watch the directors cut w the rearranged scenes, then watch the theatrical version, then watch the directors cut again. the film we have all seen for this long has not been de palmas intended version of the film. all the same scenes are included, just in a different order. its a very interesting experience.
the scream factory bluray will be out soon.