Constantine

This film follows John Constantine (Reeves) a man cursed with various psychic gifts, who lives a life haunted by demons that he exorcises from the possessed, and sends back to Hell. His days are infinitely gloomy and he walks alone till he meets Rachel Weisz’s character Angela, a police officer investigating the death of Isabel, her twin sister. Allegedly, Isabel killed herself by jumping off the roof of the mental institution her family placed her in, but security footage shows her whispering the name Constantine just before she falls.

Angela doesn’t believe it was suicide, but represses her belief in anything else until she spends enough time with Constantine, whose life is getting harder by the hour. The balance between Heaven and Hell, in which both fight for control of humans by using hybrids; humans with either spiritual wings or horns, is breaking down. Meanwhile, a man in Mexico yielding the unearthed spear that pierced Christ side is making his way towards Constantine.

The trailer to this film really put me off, it made Constantine look like another CGI full action flick with a religious backdrop, something like Schwarzenegger’s End of Days. However, this film is far far darker than that, an 18 rating seems more appropriate. Based on the DC/Vertigo comic Hellblazer, the film’s camerawork and imagery do reflect the imagination of a comic, where images are not constrained by reality. CGI is used relatively sparingly and always to great effect, especially in scenes where Hell is displayed.

We all know that Reeve’s acting isn’t great, his wooden monotones can drag in many films, but this might be why he was cast for this role. Constantine is a very haunted, cynical guy who is detached from human life, but still retains a dry and callous sense of humour; Reeve’s plays him perfectly. The sparse humour in this film is brilliantly sophisticated and always unexpected.

Constantine is an utter departure from the usual Hollywood flick, it stands out alone as much more thoughtful, regarding the characters, situation and even ending. The audience is not spared any misery; this film is dark, but very good.

Nick Grills