‘I know what you’re going to do…’
The concept of split personality disorder is catnip for any actor worth their salt. The opportunity to demonstrate their ability to play multiple characters in one film provides a platform for an actor to really showcase their range. Sadly, it is also a subject that has become old hat, often used as a cheap plot twist in the third act. Brian De Palma’s Raising Cain was an early example of this strange subgenre, and it is bad…
Carter (John Lithgow) has a personality defect that means he has various different ‘people’ inhabiting his mind. One of these personas – the murderous Cain – forces Carter to commit terrible acts. Namely kidnapping babies.
Now, I struggled with this plot description because until Frances Sternhagen shows up halfway through as psychologist Dr. Waldheim to explain the plot I had very little grasp as to what was going on. De Palma is a master director when he reigns in his more experimental instincts, but much of what he throws at the wall here doesn’t really stick, and while Lithgow gives everything to the role, the end result is a confusing and offbeat thriller that has understandably slipped from the public consciousness since it was released in 1992.
De Palma’s films are always interesting if nothing else, and while he swings for the rafters here, Raising Cain is too perplexing and too avant-garde to really work. A truly strange film.