Dir. Francis Lawrence, 2005, USA, 121 mins
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Djimon Hounsou, Gavin Rossdale
Given the astronomical successes of the X-Men and Spiderman franchises it is no wonder that Hollywood studios have been mining the Marvel, D.C and Dark Horse comic catalogues in a foaming-mouthed bid to discover and exploit yet one more spandex clad cash-cow. Apart from the better-known comic-based film adaptations such as Road to Perdition, Spiderman, Hulk, Daredevil, Elektra, The Punisher and the soon-to-released Superman Returns , there are several lesser-known comics that are currently being given the big screen treatment, such as music-video wunderkind Chris Cunningham's planned version of Rank Xerox, Mark Steven Johnson's Ghost Rider with Nicholas Cage, Paul The Bourne Supremacy Greengrass's helming of Alan Moore's classic comic The Watchmen and James Cameron's long gestating uber-sci-fi-actioner Battle Angel Alita.
The latest comic-turned-film to hit our shores is Constantine, an adaptation of Jamie Delano's and Garth Ennis's comic Hellblazer. Its story is a wonderful blend of Catholic dogma and occult mysticism, telling the tale of John Constantine (Reeves), a wanderer in the no-man's land between Heaven and Hell, cursed with the ability to see the demons and angels that walk among us. His youth plagued by demonic visions, he attempts to end the torment by committing suicide but despite his best efforts, is revived after spending two minutes in hell (as our eponymous hero drolly utters "Two minutes there is like an eternity") and having therefore broken a sacred covenant in taking his own life, he is condemned to spend all eternity in hell, reliving his suicide over and over. Constantine is living on borrowed time; he's diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and chain-smokes his way through life. He's aware of the fate that awaits him and attempts to somehow beat his hell-bound destiny and earn his way into heaven by dispatching demons that possess the bodies of the living on earth, thereby gaining God's favour and being given a second chance.
Performance wise, Reeves has a somewhat limited range but he plays to his limitations here with the embittered, laconic characterisation of John Constantine, a man who teeters precariously on the edge of nihilism. The character as originally written in the comic Hellblazer is from Liverpool, England but upon the casting of Reeves, it was altered to California . Weisz lends fairly solid support in her portrayal of Angela, a tortured police detective who disbelieves her twin sister's apparent suicide and approaches Constantine for his help to save her sister's mortal soul from the pit of Hell. Tilda Swinton makes an appearance (revisiting the androgynous look of her character in Orlando) as the archangel Gabriel, rock band Bush's front man Gavin Rossdale plays demon Balthazar in a relatively by-the-numbers turn and Peter Stormare turns in a suitably odd performance as a creepy, sleazy Satan.
Films using religious theology as a basis for fantasy/adventure always tend to catch the paranoid glare of whining fundamentalist lobby groups (Kevin Smith has posted his similarly themed film Dogma' s death threats on his website www.viewaskew.com) and for this reason studios desperately try to avoid offending anyone by 'focus grouping' this type of fare all the way to the multiplex. This does not seem to have deterred first time director Francis Lawrence (whose background is in directing music videos) who does an admirable job with Constantine , elevating the material from the comic book page to the cinematic in a mythic style which befits the subject matter, imbuing the proceedings with the requisite atmosphere of dread, some dazzling effects and some truly stylish design. Several sequences are a standout such as the freaky opening exorcism and one memorable scene involving a hospital foyer full of demons and a fire sprinkler system showering holy water. However, the film does struggle at times, when layering in the complexity of the world as created in the comic but ultimately the story is strikingly realised and engages from the outset. While not exactly a supernatural version of The Matrix, it will inevitably have those expectations placed upon it (Reeves even wears Neo's same black suit, white shirt combo) but to give it its dues, Constantine is slicker and smarter than most of its ilk in its take on theology and the occult and provides an ominous and bizarre world of the supernatural. Ultimately it's a great example of what can be achieved when great source material and good filmmaking combine and studios tell focus groups to go to hell and take a risk on darker subject matter.
Impressive, stylish, slightly lacking but nonetheless a hell of a lot of fun.
Jarrod Walker
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