Jesus' Son (1999)

Jesus' Son (R) - Review

"WWDJD?"

The early 1970s American drug scene comes into fuzzy focus through FH and Michelle, a couple of love struck hop-heads skip through a fragmented narrative full of beauty and tragedy, until the inevitable rock is bottomed and the bottom of the barrel scraped.  An early Billy Crudup plays lovable loser FH, who along with a stellar cast (including the likes of Jack Black, Dennis Leary, Dennis Hopper and Holly Hunter) they reel along the scuzzy streets arm in arm, tripping through surreal misadventures wearing thick beer goggles in dewy heroin-soaked sunrises.

Alison Maclean's direction of Denis Johnson's short story generates a film that is alive with humor and sorrow, lowering us to black out depths and back up to the highs of sobriety.  FH's voice is prevalent throughout, struggling through the disjointed narrative as it jumps from thought to thought like a burned out synapse in Tim Leary's nervous system.  The Love (inside the film and out) is palpable, complex and all too human.

9 Sacred Hearts out of 10 (OUTSTANDING)