Jesus' Son Reviews

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.

Rambling drug movie with a few brief highs

This intermittently entertaining film follows FH(Billy Crudup, superb) as he encounters a number of bizarre characters and falls in love with junkie Michelle(Samantha Morton).

Director Alison MacLean adapted this screenplay from a number of short stories and it shows. The tone of the film is all over the place, scenes of knockabout humour jarring uncomfortably with the grim reality of drug abuse elsewhere. But when 'Jesus Son' works, it really hits the mark. This is especially true of Jack Black's inspired cameo as a drug-addled hospital orderly. The sequence where the hospital's night staff have to deal with a knife in the eyeball is one of the few times the film handles the black comedy correctly.

In fact the whole cast excel themselves here with Crudup and Morton both performing well. Denis Leary is good in an all-too-brief role, and there's a couple of understated parts for Dennis Hopper and Holly Hunter late in the film.

MacLean has obviously worked very hard to try and form the source material into a coherent whole, but the joins are too apparent and it often seems like a series of sketches only tenuously linked, making the film ultimately unsatisfying. It's undeniably amusing but it's only in the final third, with the perfectly pitched performances of Hopper and Hunter, that 'Jesus Son' finds the sense of compassion and humanity it's been searching for all along.

Sorry but no.

Sorry but no I did not like this film, and I love all films. The story line was far too all over the place. So wierd and off the wall while tring to be a serious film. The Jack Black camio bit was probably the best bit but didn't make up for a drab film overall. I recomend you learn how to speak klingon instead of watching this film because it would make more sence and be more fun.

Small budget gem

Very enjoyable small budget gem. Characters nicely acted with very good lead performances from Billy Crudup and Samantha Morton.

Slow paced but at times both touching and humorous. Interesting cameos from Dennis Hopper, Jack Black and Dennis Leary.

For my money a great soundtrack too!

Gentle Giant

This is a gentle giant of a film. Dispite the lack of a story and the narrated jumps in time, this film is a wonderfull look at the gentle change that takes place in the life of a man on a mission to get high. Look out for his fellow orderly when he takes a job at a hospital, you may recognise him from the more main stream movie "School of Rock". He is his usual manically funny self in this movie. Although the central character meets him as result of trying to live a more responsible life, together they have moronic fun. If you don't like films that force you to use your imagination don't bother.

Great Film

I didn't know what to expect from this but the opening credits had some reassuringly familiar names. If you have seen Drugstore Cowboy then this is like an updated version.

The 70s scene is realy well represented, there isn't any made up psuodo retro nonsense, its the 70s of long hair and dirt. You can really get into the life that the characters are living.

The drug taking in the film is well done, its not in your face in a shocking way and shows the mystical drug induced world of the junkie in different way to most films. Pretty messed up things go on but they don't seem to have much consequence, the main character just continues on regardless. The romantic relationship is also well done, the characters are very believable.

I would recommend this film if you are looking for something a bit different.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Didnt watch it all

To be honest I only watched about an hour of this one and fell asleep, so say no more.

Shame.

Could have been good. Sadly, us mere film watchers are not allowed to change an ending, as much as i wanted to see this film, it did not live up to it`s expectations.

Goodish acting but bad film shots and stunted scripting make this a time waster( You`re time I mean)!!

What a good laugh and good acting

Billy Cruddup and Jack Black are an unlikely pair, but boy do they make this film funny or what!

The two of them working in a hospital constantly stealing all different types of drugs and therefore contiually high as kites resulting in a lot of laughs.

|have seen this film 3 or 4 times and it's still hilarious. Dennis Leary has a cameo...........also hilarious and bittersweet all at the same time.

I recommend this wonderful film to everyone.

Could be Better

Crudup and Morton give good performances in this tale of drug addiction in the 70's. Although the actors do a good job with the material they have, the film is flawed by the look which is not very retro and the skipping back and forth which is becoming more common thanks to the likes of 'Memento'.

The film characters are not very likable and there seems to be a lack of heart to the proceedings. I have to admit that Jack Black's cameo is worth watching. There are worse films out there but there are certainly plenty which are a lot better.

A film to watch if you have an interest in the actors only.