Keanu Goes to the Devil<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve mentioned the movie \u201cConstantine\u201d tangentially while discussing comic book movies and some other topics that occupied me back a few years ago.\u00a0 This 2005 movie stars Keanu Reeves as a Los Angeles based exorcist and general enemy of demonic forces.\u00a0 He\u2019s a sort of angsty noir character who is angry at heaven since he is doomed to hell because he attempted suicide as a teenager over the horror he experienced as a psychic.<\/p>\n
The movie follows a \u201clogic\u201d about the rules in place for angels and demons that makes absolutely no sense but allows for the plot devices that move the story along its arc.\u00a0 And much of the action is plodding and mechanical.\u00a0 And yet I find myself watching this turkey (or parts of it) over and over again.\u00a0 Why?<\/p>\n
Well, the two aspects of the movie that stand out in my head are two very different things.\u00a0 The first item is the visualization of Hell.\u00a0 You could say this is just a special effects technique but it really is a rich imagining of the underworld.\u00a0 The idea of Hell as our own world but turned into a burned-out husk makes for a vivid background.\u00a0 And then the demons as these mutilated corpses with the tops of their heads sheared off is bizarrely fitting.<\/p>\n
But the second item is, I think, the more compelling.\u00a0 It is the representation of Lucifer during his arrival to harvest the soul of Constantine.\u00a0 As promised in the country song, the devil wears a white suit.\u00a0 As played by Peter Stormare, Lucifer is a witty, amiable fellow who enjoys chatting with his old acquaintance Constantine prior to bringing him back to Hell where he claims he has \u201ca whole theme park full of red delights\u201d for Constantine to \u201cenjoy.\u201d\u00a0 He even helps Constantine light his cigarette when the exorcist can\u2019t manage his lighter because of the cut finger tendons incurred when he slit his own wrists in order to summon up Lucifer.\u00a0 Of course, the devil can\u2019t help pulling the flame away two or three times just for fun.\u00a0 It\u2019s this pettiness and banality that adds interest to the part.\u00a0 It\u2019s contrasted with the menace that shows through whenever Lucifer\u2019s plans are challenged either by demon, angel or divine law itself.\u00a0 But it\u2019s the human face of evil that makes Lucifer compelling.\u00a0 His vindictiveness, cruelty and pride show up as the proof that angels, devils and man are all creations of the same maker.\u00a0 We all have the same stamp.\u00a0 We\u2019ve been given free will and we can use it to reach a higher ground or fall off the mountain.<\/p>\n
So that\u2019s why I guess I enjoy watching this silly movie (or at least parts of it).\u00a0 Not for the absurd plot or the goofy take on Christian theology as it relates to Hell.\u00a0 I guess I just like to think about Satan being this provincial, bureaucratic apparatchik fighting with humans and God to protect his turf and cause as much mischief as he can.\u00a0 It just seems to fit what I\u2019ve seen of human nature.\u00a0 At least some of it.<\/p>\n