Heroin cheek

>> Billy Crudup shines as the addict in Jesus' Son

by MARK SLUTSKY

Jesus' Son, the new film from Canadian-born director Alison Maclean, might technically be labelled a "junkie film," with its raw, dirty portrayal of heroin addiction. But to pigeonhole it as such would be to miss most of its charms. Jesus' Son avoids the cliches of the junkie sub-genre, and though not flawless, it's a nicely poetic piece of work.

Set in middle America in the '70s, Jesus' Son stars Billy Crudup as Fuckhead ("FH" for short), a sweet loser who wanders through a loosely connected series of misadventures, most of them involving his tempestuous relationship with his girlfriend Michelle (Sweet and Lowdown's Samantha Morton). Jesus' Son is based on a cycle of short stories by Denis Johnson, and the film makes no attempt to mask its episodic nature; each segment is preceded by a title--"Work," "Holiday" etc. Some are funny, some are brutal, and one of the film's strengths is its ability to shift pitch seemingly without effort, the comic blending seamlessly into the tragic. "Work," one of the stronger episodes, has Crudup and his friend Wayne (Denis Leary), making some money, getting drunk, having a delightful time, with the end of the day culminating in a horrid overdose.

Maclean really creates a compelling atmosphere; the film is shot beautifully and little, unobtrusive moments of dream-like fantasy add to the texture. Furthermore, there are no predictable "junkie moments," like withdrawal or "picking up" scenes. The drugs are just there, an aspect of Fuckhead's character, not his defining essence.

This all meshes perfectly with Crudup's terrific, intensely watchable performance. The whole cast, in fact, stands out--in addition to the delightful Samantha Morton, Denis Leary, Dennis Hopper and Holly Hunter are all solid, perfectly attuned to the film's tone. Even Jack Black, whose obnoxious allure usually escapes me, is subdued here and actually quite funny.

The only major flaw in Jesus' Son lies in its structure. It's hard to make a film this episodic consistently watchable to the end, and by the beginning of the last act the movie feels over already. Jesus' Son really works best as an assemblage of interconnected short films, and once the Crudup-Morton arc is over, the movie takes about 20 minutes too long to end. As a whole, Jesus' Son is a little weak, but its excellent acting and wonderful little epiphanies make it worthwhile. :

Jesus' Son opens Friday, July 28