Product: Jesus' Son [VHS]
Rating: 5.0
Highly Recommended
"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.