Raising Cain (1992)

Director: Brian De Palma
Starring: John Lithgow, Lolita Davidovich, Steven Bauer & Frances Sternhagen

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I should get this out of the way upfront: I'm a fan of Brian De Palma. Most people...aren't. His films are often derivitive of Hitchcock films. I generously call them derivitive; usually they're blatant rip-offs.

The joy in watching a De Palma film, however, isn't in the plot of his films. It's in their execution. Cinephiles know De Palma for his medium specificity. That is, he uses techniques that are particular to film to help tell his stories. Most people know De Palma, for example, for his consistent use of split screen.

While De Palma opts not to use split screen in Raising Cain, he does display his usual technical gusto with long tracking shots down staircases, into and out of elevators, to close-ups to two-shots to three-shots and back, etc. As for the plot: think Psycho with a father and an extra personality, and it's pretty easy to figure out the rest. The acting is appropriately campy.

Raising Cain--like other De Palma films--shouldn't necessarily be watched for its plot. It's a film to appreciated for its technical aspects more than for its plot (although the plot is enjoyable for those that appreciate camp). For a better example of a (non-gangster) De Palma film, watch Obsession or Blow Out.

February 11
friend's apartment TV, night

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