Jesus' son [DVD]

Based on Denis Johnson’s acclaimed gritty short story collection, also called “Jesus’ Son”, this a finely observed drama about a young man’s descent into heroin abuse and small-time criminality in the early seventies. Faithfully recreating the drug subculture of the time, and also utilising a loose narrative structure and mise-en-scene that recalls the daring independent work of early 1970s American cinema, “Jesus’ Son” features a rich array of characters who are by turn tragic and comic. Billy Crudup and Samantha Morton are excellent as two young lovers working out their shared dependency on each other and on heroin, and they are well supported by a supporting cast that includes Holly Hunter, Denis Leary and Dennis Hopper. Though the material is harsh and confronting, “Jesus’ Son” also emerges as a deeply optimistic and humane drama. This is an excellent example of a film work that remains true to the mood and emotional intensity of its original source text, but which also creatively re-imagines and develops the story for another medium.