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Jesus' Son
1999
Alison Maclean's exhilarating adaptation of Denis Johnson's acclaimed short story collection is a deeply compassionate portrait of one man's descent into drug addiction, filled with a potent blend of surreal imagery and gritty realism. Remaining true to Johnson's original text, and in keeping with the film's substance-soaked .. Read more
| Starring | Holly Hunter, Denis Leary, Dennis Hopper, Will Patton |
|---|---|
| Director | Alison Maclean |
| Genres | Drama |
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Jesus' Son
Alison Maclean's exhilarating adaptation of Denis Johnson's acclaimed short story collection is a deeply compassionate portrait of one man's descent into drug addiction, filled with a potent blend of surreal imagery and gritty realism. Remaining true to Johnson's original text, and in keeping with the film's substance-soaked subject matter, the film is structured in a blurry, fractured fashion. Billy Crudup stars as FH, a Midwestern twenty-something in the 1970s who has decent intentions, but only seems to make things worse for everyone, including himself. When he meets Michelle (played with ferocious intensity by Samantha Morton), he finds himself falling deeper into the dangerous, desperate world of drug abuse. A tragic event forces FH to confront his destructive lifestyle head on, even when it appears it might be too late. Landing in Arizona, he gets a job writing the newsletter for an assisted living facility, and finds redemption when he's least expecting it. Crudup and Morton, both incredibly engaging screen presences, make JESUS' SON a powerful, darkly comic, and ultimately uplifting motion picture. Holly Hunter, Jack Black, Denis Leary, and Dennis Hopper all make brief appearances as quirky characters FH meets along his journey.
| Starring | Holly Hunter, Denis Leary, Dennis Hopper, Will Patton, Billy Crudup, Samantha Morton, Jack Black, Greg Germann |
|---|---|
| Director | Alison Maclean |
| Studio | MOMENTUM PICTURES |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 43 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | English |
| Released | DVD: 25 Mar 2002 Production year: 1999 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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The hero of Alison Maclean's rambling road movie, based on stories by cult author Denis Johnson, is known merely as “FH”. Suffice to say that this is not exactly a term of endearment — more an indication of Billy Crudup's cluelessness as he embarks on a drug-fuelled odyssey through seventies America. Less a coherent drama than a collection of bizarre vignettes, the bitty narrative introduces a rogue's gallery of misfits — Samantha Morton's fiery junkie, Holly Hunter's broken ex-alcoholic, Denis Leary's wife-hating barfly — whose unpredictable behaviour embroils FH in all manner of criminal activity. Not as hip as Gus Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy, this is still an accomplished follow-up to the director's eye-catching debut feature, Crush.
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Downbeat and often grim drama, set among layabouts and drug-addicts in the 70s, that manages to suggest a sweet sense of humanity.
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Most helpful member's review
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18 out of 25 people found this review helpful
An Unsung Classic
The title comes from the Velvet Underground song "Heroin": "When the smack begins to flow/And I feel like Jesus' son." Jesus' Son is a Möbius-strip film with a coda. In voice-over, one of life's punching bags, tells a tangled-up story about his random adventures on the road from Iowa City to Chicago.
Director Alison Maclean directed the 1992 New Zealand lesbian-noir drama Crush. Although she's less well known than the other Anzac directors--Gillian Armstrong and Jane Campion--she's just as talented, a lot less spiritual and a lot more pragmatic.
Crudup's enjoyment of the ride and zonked-out humour give the grubby goings-on liveliness. The film is also lightened by the eclectic soundtrack, which includes Joe Henry and Wilco.
Mostly, Jesus' Son evinces the authentic feel of the 1970s, the broke-down, defeated side. The consolation of the age was that the malaise stretched evenly from coast to coast.
While Jesus' Son gets the funny, grotty side of the decade, it also shows what it was like not to have any serious yearnings. Not since Trainspotting has there been such a merry story about people with suicidal habits, such a small miracle of a film about beatific sordidness and redemption. -
Most recent members' review
View all -
18 out of 25 people found this review helpful
An Unsung Classic
The title comes from the Velvet Underground song "Heroin": "When the smack begins to flow/And I feel like Jesus' son." Jesus' Son is a Möbius-strip film with a coda. In voice-over, one of life's punching bags, tells a tangled-up story about his random adventures on the road from Iowa City to Chicago.
Director Alison Maclean directed the 1992 New Zealand lesbian-noir drama Crush. Although she's less well known than the other Anzac directors--Gillian Armstrong and Jane Campion--she's just as talented, a lot less spiritual and a lot more pragmatic.
Crudup's enjoyment of the ride and zonked-out humour give the grubby goings-on liveliness. The film is also lightened by the eclectic soundtrack, which includes Joe Henry and Wilco.
Mostly, Jesus' Son evinces the authentic feel of the 1970s, the broke-down, defeated side. The consolation of the age was that the malaise stretched evenly from coast to coast.
While Jesus' Son gets the funny, grotty side of the decade, it also shows what it was like not to have any serious yearnings. Not since Trainspotting has there been such a merry story about people with suicidal habits, such a small miracle of a film about beatific sordidness and redemption. -
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Alison Maclean's exhilarating adaptation of Denis Johnson's acclaimed short story collection is a deeply compassionate portrait of one man's descent into drug addiction, filled with a potent blend of ... -