Never more, never again

What’s the difference between Sherlock Holmes and Edgar Allan Poe?

“The Raven” director James McTeigue might argue it’s a small one, if it exists at all. This is McTeigue’s formula for “The Raven,” a lackluster murder mystery that goes ankle-deep into quasi-Burton buckets of gore.  Throw the late 19th-century author into the cobbles of 21st-century CGI, and with a dab of repartee, you have nearly the same character.

Take this comparison loosely, however.

John Cusack, as Poe, attempts wit but ends up wisecracking without conviction. He’s too punch-drunk (and standardly drunk) to be clever.

As to his valiant attempt at portraying the brooding, misunderstood writing genius, it falls flat. Cusack wears too much emotion on his cuffs to be an effective brooder.

He shows misanthropy by screaming at the world when he should be suppressing the emotion in silent flickers of darkly rimmed, pained eyes and drowning what’s left in drugs, spirits and poetry.

However, one can’t wholly blame McTeigue for forsaking Poe’s troubled spirit and catering to the irascible gothic icon.

Scattered bits of “nevermore” and an emphasis on “Annabel Lee” are supposed to show us the deranged artist, whose parasitic psychosis nevertheless enabled one of the greatest writers of all time.

Instead, they show how poorly Hollywood understands humanity and how poorly it attempts to bullshit true emotion.