Jesus' Son (1999)

A young man turns from drug addiction and petty crime to a life redeemed by a discovery of compassion.

Director:

Alison Maclean

Writers:

Denis Johnson (book), Elizabeth Cuthrell (screenplay)

Stars:

Billy Crudup, Robert Michael Kelly, Torben Brooks

4 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Crudup	...	FH
Robert Michael Kelly	...	Salesman
Torben Brooks	...	Car Crash Driver
Dierdre Lewis	...	Driver's Wife
Jimmy Moffit	...	Car Crash Doctor
Antoinette LaVecchia	...	Dead Man's Wife
Samantha Morton	...	Michelle
Steve Buck	...	Richard
Ben Shenkman	...	Tom
Scott Oster	...	Stan
Brooke Rachel Shive	...	Beatle (as Brooke Shive)
Mark Webber	...	Jack Hotel
John Ventimiglia	...	McInnes
Jesse Weaver Jr.	...	Carl
Michael Shannon	...	Dundun (as Mike Shannon)

Storyline

A gentle and usually mellow young man, who sometimes knows things before they happen and gets vibes of premonition, tell us his story: how he met Michelle in Iowa in 1971, how he got the name Fuckhead, how she introduced him to heroin and their falling in love, his thieving, his hospital work and their time in Chicago when she gets pregnant, detox, going to Phoenix to live, AA meetings and a dance, working at a care center where he learns to touch the residents, and modifying his daily schedule so that he passes a neighboring Mennonite household at the right time to hear the wife sing Gospel songs in the shower. Slowly, very slowly, FH lets his gifts emerge.

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | female frontal nudity | watching tv | song | shower | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for graphic drug use, strong language, sexuality and some violent images

Details

Official Sites:

Lions Gate

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 July 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Az élet kalandja

Filming Locations:

Gibbstown, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$37,089, 18 June 2000

Gross USA:

$1,302,067

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,302,067

Company Credits

Production Co:

Evenstar Films, Jesus' Son Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Denis Johnson: As a man who has been stabbed in the eye by his wife.

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Goofs

In the hitchiking scene, FH predicts he will be picked up by a family driving an Oldsmobile, and when he is picked up it is presented as if he predicted correctly, but the car they are driving is a Chevrolet, not an Oldsmobile.

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Quotes

FH: All this work is messing with my high.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: The Wedding Planner/Amy/Sugar & Spice/Shadow of the Vampire/Taboo (2001)

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Soundtracks

Last Date
Written by Floyd Cramer
Performed by Floyd Cramer
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label Nashville

User Reviews

A neglected classic.

This film was buried here- apart from the acclaim in 'Uncut' magazine; I didn't manage to see this 'til this year. My initial viewing was a little underwhelmed- being a fan of Johnson's book I had worked this up to impossible heights in my mind. However, on a second viewing I enjoyed the film more- the nouvelle-vague via Scorsese editing & structure seemed much better 2nd time around.

The film is closest to 'Drugstore Cowboy'- though parts such as the split-screen or the digital editing as F***head takes pills in the Emergency Room could have come from 'Requiem for a Dream'. The source stories have been extended and made more cohesive- as with the adaptation of Hubert Selby Jr's 'Last Exit to Brooklyn' by Uli Edel.

The film is wonderfully shot- a great scene is the drive-in/cemetery that plays 'Carnival of Souls' (though I thought I saw Samantha Morton caught in an almost Anton 'Depeche Mode' Corbijin style!); imagine 'Zabriskie Point' without the metaphysical masturbation...

The acting is uniformly great- Crudup & Morton are fantastic leads, while Denis Leary, Greg Germann, Holly Hunter are among the excellent supports. The short Dennis Hopper shaving scene is one of the greatest pieces of cinema I have seen in recent years; while Jack Black almost steals the film with his amusing "listen to my shoes". And Denis Johnson is great as hunting knife in eye guy. Oh and Will Patton pops up as 'John Smith'- still he was in 'The Postman', so not quite yet forgiven.

The soundtrack (chosen by Johnson) is great- Neil Young's 'Cowgirl in the Sand', Wilco's 'Airline to Heaven' & 'She's a Jar', 'Hang on Sloopy' and the great score. The highlight is Morton's gyrating dance to 'Oh Sweet Pea'- almost as great as that dance scene ripped off for 'Pulp Fiction' from Godard's 'Bande a Part'.Only quibble is- where was 'Heroin' by The Velvet Underground?

'Jesus' Son' is a touching, funny, and tender film that deserves to find an audience. There are too many great moments here- Hunter's arm waving in the air, Beverly Home, the Amish, the laundry scene, the ER scene, the rabbits roadtrip etc. Terribly depressing that mediocrity like 'Human Traffic' & 'Trainspotting' finds an audience here- but a film like this isn't allowed to (except at a few arthouse cinemas). Pity- and Alison MacLean's debut 'Crush' is also excellent; here's to possible adaptations of Denis Johnson's 'Already Dead' & 'The Name of the World'- by David Lynch and Paul Schrader respectively (hopefully)...Check out Johnson's books- as this film's use of voiceover stems right from them.