OCTOBER 24, 2014 2:01PM
The Man Crush of Doom
CONSTANTINE
Released: February 2005
Director: Francis Lawrence
Writers: Frank A. Cappello , Kevin Brodbin - plus Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis (both credits based on their work on the Hellblazer comic book)
Notable Cast: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Djimon Hounsou
Plot: John Constantine is approached by Det. Angela Dodson who needs his help to prove that her twin sister Isabel's death was not a suicide. The dead woman was a devout Catholic and Angela refuses to accept that she would have taken her own life. She's asked Constantine for help because he has a reputation for dealing with the mystical. In fact, he is a demon hunter whose sole purpose on Earth is to send demons back to the nether regions. John himself has been to Hell - as a young man he too committed suicide and now knows that he is destined to return there on his death - but hopes that his good deeds may somehow find him a place in Heaven. As he looks into Isabel's death, he realizes that demons are trying to break through to the human world and his battles lead him into a direct conflict with Satan ... (source: imdb user garykmcd)
Commentary: Here endeth the Jamie Lee Curtis week, because tonight is the premiere of the TV series Constantine. And I need to discuss the 2005 movie Constantine.
And I also need to discuss the comic book Hellblazer, and its main protagonist, John Constantine. I was very much in love with him, you see.
A timeline: John Constantine was created in the mid-80's by legend Alan Moore in his brilliant run on Swamp Thing (I urge you to read this fantastic and beautiful comic book). He was conceived as a working class British street occultist who looked like Sting. In 1988 he got his own title, Hellblazer.
So influential was Moore's Swamp Thing that it eventually led to a line of "mature readers" titles in the early 1990's under the imprint Vertigo. And Hellblazer became one of its flagship titles, ending in 2012 when DC decided to fold the character back into the superhero universe. Yawn.
Who was John Constantine in the comic books?
He was an occultist. He had loads of guilt over a botched exorcism and all the friends that have been killed by his shenanigans. He got involved with superheroes but had zero respect for them - "wankers," he called them. He even pissed on the shoes of The Phantom Stranger.
But he hooked up with the gorgeous sorceress Zatanna of the Justice League. He fell into bed with beautiful women very easily. Later on they even introduced a bit of bisexuality or sexual fluidity in his background. He also fell in love hard with a kickass girl from Belfast named Kit, who had the strength to leave him when his addiction to the occult proved too much to handle.
Constantine was a hippy; later, a punk with his own band, the Mucous Membranes, that had only one single, "Venus of the Hardsell". He didn't hold day jobs, never worried about bills, never gave domesticity or settling down a second thought. He was free.
He was a chainsmoker, a drinker, a pub rat with some awful habits - and he had little regrets about those - in fact he pulled off a dangerous gambit with the rulers of Hell so he could get rid of his lung cancer and just keep right on smoking. He'll never see the light.
He fought the powers of Hell but don't confuse John Constantine with any sort of pious holy man. He hated Heaven and religious hypocrisy just as much. One of his great enemies was a prominent Judeo-Christian figure that took up with Britain's racist elite, and you should see what he did to that fucker.
He was a sorcerer that never shot any lasers from his outstretched arms or twitched his nose - his brand of thaumaturgy, wizardry, magick, was nothing more than a little knowledge and a keen talent for being a sneaky con-man.
He used friends and acquaintances for his own purposes. His 'morality' seems dubious but at the end of the day he stands with people against the authorities that want to keep their boot on your neck.
What was the comic book Hellblazer? It was highly political. It began as a manifesto against Thatcherism coded in the language of horror and the occult. It pretty much stayed that course for as long as I read it. It took an atheist, left wing view of the world, which is hard to do in a long-running serial involving demons and angels and the afterlife.
Are you wondering why I was in love with John Constantine?
I started reading Hellblazer in 1993. I was a college graduate in the greatest city in the world, burdened with a whole bunch of freedom, a whole bunch of psychological shit to work through (including guilt and infinite relief over a break-up), and burdened with being thoroughly aimless. I wanted everything that Constantine was - the thrilling, unconventional life, the merry-go-round hedonism, the lack of concern about bills and orderliness, the secret knowledge, the taciturn refusal to become an investment banker or whatever.
And oh, the drama! The dark tortured-ness! Oh if you people only knew the things I'd seen, the things I'd done!
Essentially, I was in love with Constantine because I was a stupid 22 or 23 year old boy with no clue, who didn't realize that Constantine is actually that creepy aged single uncle without a job or a pulled-together adult home, that asks the kids where the cool parties are. That might be the wrong conclusion but I stopped reading Hellblazer after a certain point.
So, after this long loving rant about the comic book world of John Constantine, you would expect that I would have hated the 2005 cinematic adaptation Constantine, starring Keanu Reeves.
The sheer disrespect to the source material would be enough to revile it. Constantine was being played by an American actor famous for being unable to emote a single emotion or facial expression. Constantine was made an American character, when Hellblazer is so utterly British through and through. His best friend Chas, who in the comics is a put-upon solid taxi driving bloke, suddenly became an annoying teen lapdog played by Shia LeBoeuf (sorry, not a fan and I'm underwhelmed by his bid to move to the same macho Crazytown inhabited by Joaquin Phoenix, Colin Farrell, Russell Crowe or even Marlon Brando).
The film lacked any political edge whatsoever despite that its plot was adapated from one of the most explosive and controversial story arcs in the comics series. In fact, this iteration of Constantine, while not pious, really did want to cleanse his soul and go to Heaven. Except for one stilted monologue, he had little to say about our Creator and His unfair rules for having a torture-free afterlife. Oh, and the chewing gum? Very not John Constantine.
So yes, you would have thought I hated the movie.
But I almost loved it.
It wasn't Hellblazer and it wasn't the character of John Constantine by any means. But I loved its elegant, symbolic occultism and its brisk plot. The CGI wasn't intrusive and the dark eye candy colors of the film were pleasing. Reeves sold his role in this movie the way he sold Neo in The Matrix; it wasn't insufferable by any means.
The supporting cast elevated the film. Lovely Rachel Weisz provided us a reason to care about the outcome of the plot, and gothic thrillers suit her big beautiful eyes. Djimon Honsou was fun as Papa Midnite, a neutral "Victor Lazlo" type Voodoo priest and nightclub owner. Gavin Rossdale (lead singer of Bush and Mr. Gwen Stefani) proved he could act well. He was excellent as the demon Balthazar. Peter Stormare rocked it as the Devil himself.
But Tilda Swinton was the MVP here. She was a powerhouse in her role as the Archangel Gabriel. She brought a terrifying cold, androgynous and sociopathic aesthetic to the role. She's worth watching in this one.
Tonight, the NBC series Constantine premiers. Actor Matt Ryan certainly looks the part and though set in the U.S., they say efforts will be made to stay truer to the comics.
It looks good and I'm looking forward to it, but I'm almost certain they'll take the political bite out of this adaptation too. NBC ain't ready.
What We're Afraid Of: In the comic book series Hellblazer, it's very obvious what we're afraid of: Thatcherism and its subsequent extensions to this day.
In the film Constantine, it's tougher to fathom. I suppose the demonology here deals with fears about death, dying of disease, and how you're going to - well, get right with "God."
That's definitely a valid subject matter - comfort and discomfort after death is probably the greatest human anxiety.
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Comments
Loved Rachel Weisz and
Tilda Swinton, this is one of the few movies starring Keanu Reeves that
I am able to enjoy. Highly recommended! R&R ;-D
So interesting, thanks!
My DVR is set. Looking forward to seeing it!
I must have watched the
movie, "Constantine" about ten times. I know it's not a great movie,
but whenever I come across it on cable, I feel compelled to watch it.
Keanu's acting skills may be limited, but he seems to know which roles
he can get away with. I thought his performance in the movie, "River's
Edge" was outstanding. I was totally ignorant about the whole
"Hellblazer" connection to "Constantine." Thanks for the info.
RATED
RATED
@Jmac and Littlewillie -
thanks guys for commenting. I'm glad I'm not the only who saw
something in "Constantine" to like. Nick, Zanelle, thank you as well!
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