Product: Jesus' Son [VHS]
Rating: 2.0
I just didn't care enough...
I'm not really sure what to say here.Now, I have not read the short stories that inspired this film so I am not approaching this like a `Jesus' Son' loyalist. I'm approaching this as a movie-goer who likes to formulate his own opinions and share them with the public.I expected to love this movie. The reason for that is that, as a rule, I am all for this brand of self discovery and or character development. I am far more interested in the human dynamic within film as apposed to a cut and dry plot I can follow. So, the whole disjointed, vignette approach taken here was not a bother to me nor was it something I was wary about. I was thrilled to see it being used and was really hoping to dive right into it. Couple that with the fact that it stars Samantha Morton, who is like a goddess, and you have me waiting patiently on my couch for this experience to unveil itself.Alas, I was hugely disappointed.The film has no plot but instead merely follows around our nameless narrator as we dives in and out of relationships (well one real relationship and a few acquaintances) on a journey of semi-self discovery. These are presented to us in a series of sequences that are supposed to reveal some deep meaningful existence here but instead prove to be somewhat empty and unnecessary. Instead of feeling connected and or even interested in our protagonist, we find ourselves (or I should say that I found myself) completely detached and rather bored with him. I could care less what he does or who he does it with because he means nothing to me.It doesn't help that Billy Crudup doesn't have the talent to convey this character properly.I recently (when speaking of `Angels and Insects' and Kristin Scott Thomas's flawless performance within it) told a friend that I hate recommending a bad film based on the sole performance by an actor or actress that they really should see. That said, you really need to see what Samantha Morton does here. She gives, easily, one of my favorite supporting performances of the decade. There is such natural earnest honesty in her performance, and it is layered perfectly. I could care less about our nameless narrator, but I wanted so badly to console and or understand Michelle. Morton's portrayal of this ravaged soul was so heartfelt it pained me to see her wasted on this misguided film.I understand that this film is about drug use and that this film tries to portray the reality of it all, but it just doesn't really do that well.Like one reviewer stated (w/w); "I thought about mermaids."