Review of Jesus' Son (2000) by Ryan H — 06 Mar 2012

Billy Crudup makes Jesus' Son an incredible journey. He really takes the form of the main character FH. Maclean doesn't have to take much time in introducing his character because we get a feel for him really quickly.

The guy is pretty stupid. Everyone calls him fuckhead. It doesn't matter, because Crudup's performance makes the entire film compelling. From the beginning we know he can't be too bright because he has botched the telling of his story.

He went way too far in the story, thinking we would understand, then takes us back a ton so we get the picture. He first has to introduce us to Michelle. For some reason along the way, he thinks it's important to explain his two friends that were with him and the deaf guy in the car.

I guess it's semi-important, considering without them he would have never met Michelle, and he would have never become a drug addict. When he wakes up in the morning with her for the first time, she asks if he has seen anyone shoot up before as she's preparing her drugs.

He says no and continues making a bowl of cereal. It's all downhill from there. Following the life of FH without much structure was definitely a good choice. We basically see him jump from place to place.

Every time he leaves somewhere it's because he screwed up. The man is having an existential crisis, but instead of discovering what his life needs, he keeps filling it up with pointless drugs. There are so many great supporting actors in the film as well.

We have Michael Shannon as the guy who kills Michelle's boyfriend (and doesn't seem too bright). He just shoots him and is completely calm, like nothing really happened. Man, I would have loved to follow him a bit longer.

But I guess what we saw would have been it for his character; the rest would have been repetitive. Denis Leary plays a guy who steals copper from his salvaged house so that he can buy drugs and alcohol (and the drugs end up killing him and almost killing FH if it wasn't for Michelle).

Jack Black plays an orderly that is on so many drugs he screws up by taking the blade out of a guy's eye. The best part of this was when FH accidentally smooshes the rabbits. And then we have Dennis Hopper in rehab who talks about getting shot by his wives.

Lastly (and least importantly) is Holly Hunter, who can't pin down a love that wont die. Upon meeting all these people, you would think that FH would discover himself and what he needs. But he just seems to get more lost.

His brain doesn't function like ours; he doesn't always learn from his mistakes. Instead, he tries to form his life in a way that he can keep living the way he does without harming anyone else.

He's got a good heart. He wants to do good. We hope he will find out the secret he doesn't know he's searching for.