Review - Film - Constantine

 

Constantine

Date night went well this week. Cher and I enjoyed a meal at Guadalajara, a local Mexican restaurant. I’m feeling the effects of all that cheese today… Afterwards, we went to the Continental Theater to see the new movie Constantine. I had read some of the comics and, as such, went with cautious optimism. Cher had requested some time ago that we go see it as soon as it came out – and so we did.

The film is dark, very dark. So much so, in fact, that the theater had posted a sign at the ticket window that indicated that they would only admit adults and children under 18 only if they could prove they were there with their parents. I remember thinking wow, that’s unusual. In retrospect, they were absolutely correct. This movie would give kids nightmares for a month.

It basically follows the life of John Constantine an exorcist, demonologist, heavy drinking, chain smoking, self-obsessed man trying desperately to buy his way into heaven – a privilege denied him given his attempted suicide earlier in life. If your interested, Straight To Hell : A Hellblazer Site has some great information on the comic books as well as the movie. The movie’s website also has a lot of interesting info. The plot centers on the discovery of the Spear of Destiny which is purported to be the spear that pierced the side of Jesus Christ as he hung on the cross. In this mythos, the spear was said to have disappeared at the end of WWII. Following the plot, the spear is needed to facilitate the birth of the devil’s son into our plane, something his father knows nothing of until the end. As you can well imagine, John Constantine is playing catch up throughout the film trying to connect a string of events that leads ultimately to this birth.

I really enjoyed this film despite the fact that it is, at times, visually arresting and horrifying. The performances turned in are pretty good in general. Keanu Reeves, who plays John Constantine, is still as wooden as ever – but he’s growing on me. Rachel Weisz plays dual role as a detective who’s twin sister is encouraged to commit suicide. Tilda Swinton plays as the Archangel Gabriel and Peter Stormare turns in the best performance of the film as Satan. Mr. Stormare appears slimy, lascivious, and evil to the core in this film - creepy.

The film left me thinking. It will leave you thinking as well – and maybe a bit shaken. It will not receive critical acclaim, but it’s worth considering if you don ‘t scare too easily and, if you like the comic book genre of film, it’s a must see.

RCS