If beauty could be
found in the darkness and grace in the doomed, then Jesus’ Son
is a trip to the world of junkies that, despite its subject, creates
fascination, humor, and hope. Because most people are repulsed by the
desperate and destructive lives junkies lead to maintain their
“highs”, many might hastily turn away from this film. Based on Denis
Johnson’s semi-autobiographical stories, Jesus’ Son doesn’t
shy away from the ugly and the depressing, but the uncomfortable is
exactly what leads to a captivating story full of unexpected humor and
unpredictable characters.
The story is
narrated by FH (Billy Crudup). While trying to keep his relationship
with Michelle (Samantha Morton), who is a junkie, FH falls into one
mishap after another, some tragic, some hilarious, and some just weird.
The combination of his blind love for Michelle and the blinding effect
of his “highs” causes him to bungle up nearly every endeavor. But no
matter what he does, his sense of innocence and freedom win our sympathy
and we become hooked on the story he is sharing.
Billy Crudup’s able
performance is heightened by the multi-layered talents of his co-stars,
including Samantha Morton, Denis Leary, Jack Black, and Holly Hunter.
Each cast member crafts a delicious display of quirkiness, and we give
special mention to Jack Black’s performance of Georgie, a hospital
orderly and fellow addict. Georgie sheds an interesting perspective on
the world of “normal” people whose lives are often shocking and, in
some ways, more bizarre than the lives of the junkies.
Despite the
quizzical, even lighthearted tone in which FH relates his story, he is
gradually losing to his addiction, and we have grown to care for him
sufficiently to genuinely hope for some kind of realization that will
snap him back from the brink. At this point, the movie could have gotten
easily lost in some contrived message about the virtue of being clean
and sober. Instead FH faces the true horror of living; the challenge of
connecting to and participating in his world which is painfully
difficult even without intoxication. His gradual
transformation is in every way as bizarre as the failures of his junkie
days. Without some overly dramatic inner big bang, FH awakens
to the beauty of the ordinary, like the song of a woman in the shower,
or the magic of relating to the old and disappointed. Sure enough, his
challenges are far from over, but hope that is born from this blend of
adventure, despair, humor, and salvation, makes Jesus’ Son a
rare entertainment experience and one that still haunts us.
