Post by kinglear on Apr 5, 2013 14:37:44 GMT -5
Jenny in "Raising Cain" with her daughter Amy.
I've watched the film 3 times and it never gets old, mainly because De Palma invites the audience to play his game. I remember David Denby wrote in his 1992 review of "Raising Cain" that the film will give the audience a high that Hollywood movies featuring traditional narrative structure won't; that's exactly why watching the film never gets old because I feel like an active participant in the film.
One thing I noticed in "Raising Cain" as well as many De Palma films, the female fantasy is often interrupted by a male or a phallus. I also get off on the fact that De Palma takes a Marion Crane-type character (from "Psycho" just in case you didn't know) Jenny and SPOILER!!! proposes what if she lived to fight for her happy ending. I've always been fascinated with second chances and getting a chance to right a wrong. Clearly, it's one of De Palma's obsessions. One more thing, it doesn't matter if some of the second chances are logically questionable, because the simple act of seeing something makes it work on a visceral level. If you see it, in a sense you can believe it. At least that's how it is with De Palma.