Codependent. Michelle and FH (Morton and Crudup) are inextricably entwined in a life of drugs and crime.
Codependent. Michelle and FH (Morton and Crudup) are inextricably entwined in a life of drugs and crime.
Crudup plays a young man in the early 1970s, a lost soul who drifts through life stealing, using drugs and generally getting into so much trouble that his friends call him "F**k Head" (aka FH). And his friends aren't exactly winners themselves. There's his on-off junkie girlfriend (Morton), a pill-popping coworker (Black), a petty thief (Leary), a fellow rehab patient (Hopper), a seedy pimp (Patton) and a woman (Hunter) who's been widowed more times than she can remember. All of these people impact FH on his path from aimlessness to purpose.
The disjointed narrative makes the film feel much longer than it is, and the dark, awful stuff filling the story is pretty depressing. But a black streak of humour (especially in a ghastly/hilarious hospital sequence) helps keep things lively. Crudup is raw, kinetic and unexpectedly likeable, winning us over against all odds. Morton is also quite good in a hyperactive twist on the femme fatale role, while Hopper and Hunter are utterly mesmerising in their brief scenes. And as the title implies, there's a strong spiritual side to the film, as FH's Catholic background haunts him subliminally, resulting in surprising glimpses of truth and miracles as he goes through life. Maclean directs it intriguingly as well, with startling imagery that's in turns beautiful and hideous. Despite Crudup's sunny presence, this isn't an easy film to watch--it's relentlessly sordid, really. But the intriguing subtext and the way it never cheapens its characters (or subject matter) might make it worth a look.
[18--adult themes and situations, violence, drug use, language] 19.Jun.00
US release 16.Jun.00; UK release 7.Jul.00
