Customer Reviews

Jesus' Son [VHS]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Jesus' Son" barely got a theatrical release, so here's your chance to discover one of the quirkiest and most heartfelt movies to come along since the `70s output of the late, great director Hal Ashby ("Harold & Maude," "Coming Home").

From Denis Johnson's low-key, disjointed short stories about addicts and outcasts, director Alison Maclean and her writers/adapters have distilled a narrative that's both goofy and lucid. The story drifts and meanders, as it should - our protagonist is a survivor who's still trying to comprehend his salvation. Anyone who took drugs in the `70s will be stunned by how familiar and true is the recreation of that era; bigger-budgeted period pieces often settle for easy nostalgia via bad wigs and hit parades, but here, offbeat locations and music selections spark forgotten memories of two-laned interstates, abandoned drive-ins and AM radio.

Unlike flashier but similar-themed junkie laments, "Jesus' Son" is a triumph of substance over style: empathy becomes more crucial than an extended light show. Not to suggest Maclean hasn't made strong stylistic choices - indeed her tone approaches a breaking fever dream. Devices like split screen, chapter cards and black humor are so effective specifically because they're used economically.

Most inspired, however, is the casting. There are no weak performances. Even cameos by well-knowns like Dennis Hopper and Holly Hunter are beautifully modulated. For instance, just when you suspect Hunter might be `phoning in' a loony AA caricature, she floors you with a devastating - and painfully real - emotional outpouring. Likewise, Jack Black and Denis Leary embody larger-than-life characters without going over-the-top. As for the leads, Samantha Morton starts with a skin-deep role (her character is barely in the book) and delicately creates a multi-dimensional junkie unlike what we're used to seeing: sweet, spiteful, sexy, smart, screwed up, and ultimately willing to give all for love. It is more difficult to praise Billy Crudup ... because words inadequately describe his particular genius. Sure, he has obvious talent and charisma; if he didn't, the movie would collapse. But he goes further, demonstrating masterful subtlety and restraint. Listen to the timbre of his voice-overs; for once narration doesn't sound like it's being read, but recalled. Then watch him listen to the other characters, something most film actors aren't very good at. So real and surprising are his expressions that the director lets the camera linger on his dazed reactions. It's been said elsewhere that his supporting cast manages to steal all their scenes. Without disagreeing, it might be more accurate to say that Crudup generously gives them their scenes.

Due to theme and structure, "Jesus' Son" won't appeal to impatient audiences who've developed bad movie-watching habits by OD'ing on popcorners. They could say there's not enough action, or the ending is too long (it's not - the third act carefully sets up the redemption, then hope, so crucial to this story). But for fans of independent movies, truthful acting, and particularly fans of Hal Ashby and the great American cinema of the 1970s, "Jesus' Son" should not be overlooked.

This movie changed the way I look at life. We all take so much for granted and it could all end at any moment. This is one of the main ideas of Jesus' Son. The main character, FH, stumbles through life while many of his friends die, yet he remains unharmed and only gradually begins to change his ways. This movie may be about death and pain, but it is optimistic and hopeful; as long as life continues, something good can happen. There is a surprising amount of humor in the film, all of it compassionate, it doesn't result to mocking the characters or the situations as so many movies these days do.

Some people have complained that Jesus' Son imitates Pulp Fiction in its narrative. This is untrue - the story unfolds as FH tells it, sometimes he doubles back to give more detail or fill in gaps, but for the most part it is linear. FH's narration gives the movie much of its personality.

The acting is astoundingly realistic throughout. Of all the movies I've seen this year, Billy Crudup's performance is the best. Hopefully he will soon achieve the widespread recognition he deserves. The entire cast performs admirably, every actor gets at least one scene to shine, with Crudup providing the link from one to the next. My favorite scene was Dennis Hopper's - his final line speaks volumes about life and death and the human condition.

The direction is self assured and impressive. There is not much self conscious camera trickery, and when it is used, it is to good effect. The soundtrack is another stong point, all of the songs enhance the mood of the scene perfectly.

Jesus' Son reminds me of last year's Bringing Out the Dead in the way it subtly reveals so much about the nature of redemption and the beauty that can be found in life if you just allow yourself to see it. Also, this is one of the few movies that gets better the more you think about it.

My first take on first viewing was: right, I want to watch a movie about some disgusting, sleazy, young idiots. The sex. The violence. The drugs. And then, you start to pay attention to the narrator's voice, and you begin to understand the intelligence, the attempt at a philosopy of life that lies behind the voice. And you laugh as a dead guy gets beat up in a corn field.
I own two movies--the other is John Huston's "The Dead". I only buy movies that have enough complexity in script, acting, and production, that you can watch over and over and still see new things.
This is a movie that changes gears on you constantly. One viewing will not suffice.
I still scream with laughter when I see it, and I still weep.

It's hard to believe "Drugstore Cowboy" was released as long ago as 1989. Just as "Trainspotting" was often described as a "Drugstore Cowboy for the 1990s," it's tempting to describe "Jesus' Son" as a "Drugstore Cowboy for the 2000s".

Like Gus Van Sant's now-classic film, the story revolves around two heroin addicts (Billy Crudup and Samantha Morton, both excellent), it's set in the past (the 1970s instead of the 1960s), and it's based on a pre-existing literary source, in this case, Denis Johnson's story collection of the same name. But despite everything--mostly bad--that F@#khead (Crudup) experiences throughout the course of the film, "Jesus' Son" is more of a character study (FH, as he's known, also serves as narrator).

Like Portland's Gus Van Sant, New Zealand's Alison MacLean refrains from judging her characters. But "Jesus' Son" isn't as concerned with FH's drug use as much as his very character, his nature--his essence, if you will. And if you can't find anything to like about the hapless FH, you'll probably feel the same way about MacLean's darkly comic film (after the well received, but little-seen "Crush").

As in "High Fidelity," Jack Black provides much of the humor, although Crudup proves adept at a few choice moments. The film also features Dennis Hopper, Denis Leary, and Holly Hunter (in a well acted, but not particularly convincing role). Fans of "The Panic in Needle Park" (starring Al Pacino in his first lead performance), Vincent Gallo's loopy "Buffalo 66," and especially--yes--"Drugstore Cowboy" will find much to enjoy.

Joe Henry's fine soundtrack only serves to sweeten the deal, the highlight of which must surely be Tommy Roe's funky "Sweet Pea", to which Morton's Michelle does *quite* the dance, drawing FH into her dangerously druggy world without saying a word. And speaking of music, the Velvet Underground's "Heroin", in which Lou Reed claims he feels "just like Jesus' Son" when he's "rushing on [his] run," is conspicuous by its absence. Then again, why be so obvious?

If you came of age (or nearly did) in the 60's, you may recall a moment--very likely sometime in the early 70's, unless you were extremely prescient and saw it coming earlier--when all the hippie idealism pretty much just dissolved before your eyes and was replaced by...well, whatever it was replaced by. I recall being actually kind of angry at all these small town stoners whose only countercultural value was, quite frankly, drug taking. Society was not about to undergo a profound spiritual transformation at their hands. Of course, it was scarcely about to at anyone else's either...but who knew back then?

Lost souls like JESUS SON'S "FH" were really not uncommon back in the day. They may not have been uncommon back in any day. But the 60s and early 70s brand was perhaps a little more noticeable and, in some senses, sympathetic because of their vaguely anti-establishment stance. For a brief moment in history, outcasts were almost taken seriously. These people really did exist. As surreal as JESUS' SON sometimes gets, it remains grounded in its very vivid, very authentic characters.

Yes, there were certain junkie truths that ultimately became cinematic cliches. The numrerous OD's, the failed love relationships and the sporadic attempts at redemption are all elements of JESUS' SON. And yet, they come across as less cliched in this particular druggie film than in some others. Perhaps it's because the acting is almost uniformly excellent--with leads, Billy Crudup and Samantha Morton, deserving of particular praise. Perhaps too it's, at least in part, because FH's ultimate redemption is a plausible one. Out of rehab, he gets a job in a different kind of rehabilitation center, a home for sufferers of rare neurological diseases. It is finally there that he realizes that there may indeed be a place in the world for people like him.

Many viewers will find the final, sobered up segment of the film a little weaker dramatically than the drug addled scenes that precede it. That's true, but the end is also something of a relief. FH would surely have joined the ranks of his fallen comrades in arms had it not been for rehab and the chance at a new life in a new city. It's the kind of ending you could call "bittersweet"--if you use terminology like that. It's also one of only two possible endings for someone like "FH"--and, like him, you're grateful for that much.

When I first heard of this movie, I immediately recognized the source of the title as being a line from Lou Reed's "Heroin." I was disappointed, at first, to see that that song was not incluced on the soundtrack. But on further reflection, that actually seemed the better choice. Lou Reed is the quintessetial urban poet. FH never even comes close to New York City or any other real metropolis. The Neil Young, Doug Sahm and Louvin Brothers tracks actually used in the film are actually more fitting.

The story of "Jesus' Son" is lifted from a series of short stories by author Denis Johnson. That explains the jostling and somewhat disjointed episodes of FH's (Billy Crudup) life. Given the subject, I think jostled and disjointed works to its credit.

"Jesus' Son" is a story about a man named FH. FH is a junkie. His girlfriend Michelle (Samantha Morton) introduces him to heroin and a lifestyle that's... well, disjointed, focused on just getting by. It's a tender bond born of a shared weakness. FH soon becomes a hardcore drug addict, taking (and breaking) anything he comes into contact with. Thus begins a series of comic and tragic episodes featuring a motley crew of supporting characters (played in part by Jack Black, Denis Leary, and Denis Hopper).

The movie represents drugs honestly. They aren't portrayed as evil, nor does the movie get caught up in naïve drug glorification. The drug sequences are surreal and comical. They even add depth to FH's experience, not just in terms of short term sensory perception, but his experience of tragedy and human deprivation. The movie contains one of the funniest episodes I've ever seen, where FH becomes an emergency room orderly. He and fellow orderly Georgie (Jack Black) use their position to score drugs. When the ER is visited by a man with a Rambo style survival knife sticking through his eye (says FH, trying to out-pun the ER staff: "Patient complains of a stabbing headache."), the local doctor refuses to touch it. Georgie doesn't have similar scruples (or medical training). He emerges from the operating room knife in hand, apparently after gripping the handle and pulling it out. When the man survives without brain damage, one of the ER staff asks him what it is he does. "I save lives," says Georgie. It's one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen, in any move, period.

When I see the drug scenes, I think of a quote by the late Hunter S. Thompson, "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." They work for FH, for a short time, until he realizes its give and take. He can't juggle the distractions of drugs with keeping a normal life, and through personal loss he finally appreciates what's happened to him, and sobers up. The ending isn't too sugary--FH learns through mistakes that had disastrous consequences. "Jesus' Son" is a really incredible movie. I highly recommend it.

Although it is far from perfect, "Jesus' Son" stands as a shining example of what is to be valued in independent filmmaking. It's impossible to imagine this film being produced in Hollywood. The subject matter is thorny, the form is innovative and most characters are ambiguous. In short, there's little here for a mass audience can grab onto. Yet, anyone choosing to pass this little film by will be missing something worthwhile.

"Jesus' Son", which takes its title from a Lou Reed song, expresses itself as a narrative memory. The film has the feel of random pages read out of someone's diary. It opens with a voice-over and we are immediately aware of an eccentric approach: the narrator has jumped the gun and needs to start over again. This sort of starting and re-starting may seem an affectation derived from the French 'new wave,' but it is handled so effectively that it succeeds in pulling the viewer into the film. Once officially on track, "Jesus' Son" moves from scene to scene with a method that seems wholly controlled by this main character/narrator, a young man known simply as F--head. We're never sure if he deserves this unflattering name, since his intentions are not always clear. F--head just seems to move through life, going where circumstances take him. Along the route, a wide variety of character types are encountered. Most leave F--head with something, and a few take something from him.

For individuals who are roughly contemporary with the characters in this film, there is much here that rings true. The time period-early 1970s-was a strange, directionless time for many in their early twenties. In fact, the film almost makes an unintentional case for the rampant drug abuse of the time: for so many, there was nothing else to do.

But the intention of "Jesus' Son" is not to excuse drug abuse, nor is to preach against it. Rather, the movie takes its hero on a rambling journey through the undersides and back alleys of life so that he may discover a single reason for staying alive. F--head seems a variant of the "wise fool" character, bringing about change in the lives of those he meets, yet seemingly unable to evaluate any of the events or relationships in his own life. Some viewers may see the hero guided by a higher power, of which he is himself unaware.

While the film's haphazard structure may be annoying to some, it admirably suits the time period and life-styles of the characters. There is a seeming discrepancy between several scenes. Some have a realistic, semi-documentary feel (when F--head first encounters Michelle), while others appear to be drawn from some bizarre cable-TV sitcom (the entire hospital orderly sequence, for instance). As in many independent films of recent years, there is much humor mixed with stark drama. The director, Alison Maclean, keeps a firm grip, maneuvering between wide-ranging emotional states. In the end, one is left with the feeling of having really experienced something. This is due not only to Maclean, but to the very fine cast.

Not surprisingly, "Jesus' Son" is dependent for its success on the portrayal of its central character. Billy Crudup, an actor who could easily be dismissed as a pretty boy, brings an almost palpable reality to every scene. He exhibits a total identification with the character and is able to project perfectly the inherent ambiguity that drives the entire story. Is F--Head putting everyone on? There are flashes of nearly poetic brilliance in his dialogue, mixed with befuddled inanity. He seems to live around his world, rather than within it; observing, but not always participating. Although one might wonder how someone with his lifestyle could have such perfect teeth, F--head as played by Crudup, is a beautiful, confused and confusing angel.

Other cast members are memorable as well. Samantha Morton, who made a huge impression in Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown", embodies the equally ambiguous persona of Michelle, who loves F--head, yet seeks to destroy herself. Dennis Leary effectively creates a man annihilated by his own life. The growing number of Jack Black fans will probably enjoy his over-the-top characterization, but to this viewer his George seems vaguely disturbing and threatening. Holly Hunter is the kind of performer who can bring a lot to a film with just a few lines. She plays a lovely crippled woman here with dignity and humor. Also excellent in their brief appearances are an understated Dennis Hopper and the vigorous Will Patton.

Typical of many period films dealing with young people , the soundtrack of "Jesus' Son" is loaded with contemporary popular songs. But the choices here seem carefully made. There is new material as well: a fine main theme written by Bob Dylan and the closing credits are supported by a superb song with a Woody Guthrie lyric, set to music and performed by Wilco.

I really enjoyed this movie. Its not for everyone but I think it was a great show. The movie had a sort of authenticity about it. Although, not all of us experience the same things in life we can all agree that it is a rollercoaster ride. Sometimes up and sometimes down. This movie covered the rollercoaster ride of a mans turbulant life and somehow I could relate to it because the directer keept it authentic, fresh, and real

To paraphrase Heinlein in Stranger In A Strange Land, we laugh because life is painful, we laugh to get rid of the hurt. Jesus' Son had me laughing the entire way. So much so that a woman who was in the theatre with me complementd me on my (comprehending?,well-timed?)laugh afterward. This movie is so adept at finding humor in life's tragedies and wisdom in it's utter idiocy, I couldn't help but convulse with laughter and emotion. Yet the tone is quite somber. Billy Crudup plays an irresponsible junkie who wants only to make life better for him and his, but only makes things worse. Repeatedly. Anyone can relate to that. And my money says that most will be moved by it.

Wonderful depiction of a guy who has a void in his life that he seems to be searching to fill. He tries drugs, and other things, and finally realizes his truth in sobriety. very interesting story and twists along the way, as well as trying to match up the title to the movie.