Jesus' Son (1999)
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81% of critics liked it
(47 reviews) -
80% of users liked it
(6,709 ratings)
In this independent drama, a young man tries to find himself in the early 1970s as he wades through a swamp of heroin addiction. FH (Billy Crudup) is a well-intentioned but weak-willed man whose propensity for messing up his life has earned him his nickname, short for "F--khead." FH's… More In this independent drama, a young man tries to find himself in the early 1970s as he wades through a swamp of heroin addiction. FH (Billy Crudup) is a well-intentioned but weak-willed man whose propensity for messing up his life has earned him his nickname, short for "F--khead." FH's problems with drugs begin in earnest when he falls in love with Michelle (Samantha Morton), a beautiful but emotionally unsettled woman addicted to heroin. FH soon finds himself drawn to the needle, and the couple drifts from one incident to the next, some funny and some horrifying. Michelle rescues FH from overdoses on a few occasions, although their friend Wayne (Denis Leary) isn't so lucky. After a few years, Michelle becomes pregnant and has an abortion in Chicago shortly before leaving FH and journeying to Mexico. While heading South in hopes of finding her, FH falls into a relationship with an older woman, Mira (Holly Hunter), and becomes involved in an auto wreck; his brush with death, and the opportunity to save a child's life, lead him into rehab and a chance to straighten out his life. The American debut from New Zealand director Alison Maclean and based on the novel by Denis Johnson, Jesus' Son also features Dennis Hopper, Will Patton, and Jack Black. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Alison Maclean
- Written By
- Elizabeth Cuthrell, Oren Moverman, David Urrutia, Denis Johnson
- Genres
- Drama
R,
- In Theaters
- Jun 1, 1999 Wide
- On DVD
- Sep 19, 2000
- Studio
- Lions Gate Films
Critic Reviews
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John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews
takes some different turns
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Austin Kennedy, Sin Magazine
JESUS' SON is bottom of the line trash that wants to be art. Full of self important crap, tedious performances, and embarrassing experimental flourishes, this is a movie to avoid at all costs.
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Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
While one is able to get interested in FH's internal workings, it's more difficult to get too invested in his external actions--that is, on rare occasion he does act rather than react.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
The film uses dreamlike quality to evoke youth subculture of the 1970s, and Billy Crudup is perfectlt cast as a man who believes he possesses healing powers and wants to do good, but his attempts always end disastrously
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Manages to blend its stories together into a nearly seamless narrative, sliding dreamily from one episode to the next before we even realize we've gone.
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Cast
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Billy Crudup
as F.H.
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Samantha Morton
as Michelle
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Denis Leary
as Wayne
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Jack Black
as Georgie
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Will Patton
as John Smith
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Greg Germann
as Dr. Shanis
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Holly Hunter
as Mira
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Dennis Hopper
as Bill
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Michael Shannon
as Dundun
