JESUS VERSUS THE MESSIAH

JESUS VERSUS THE MESSIAH

Sally (Gemma Deerfield) finds herself in bother with an oversized, drunken bully while turning tricks in an odd new pub. A stranger at the bar (Simon Phillips) steps in and, fluking it in a drinking contest against his brutish opponent, wins the approval of a confused Sally.

He introduces himself to her as Jesus - when she stops her giggling, he tells her she can call him Jay for short - and invites her to stay at his flat when he discovers she's been living out of her car for as long as she can remember.

With reservations, Sally agrees. She soon realises he's a good guy and, the following morning, offers to go back to the bar when he realises his wallet was stolen during his alcohol-fuelled showdown with her tormentor. She retrieves said wallet - but while doing so witnesses a huge black man in a leather Stetson (Danny Idollor) enter the bar, holding a photo of Jay and quizzing people as to his whereabouts.

Sally rushes to the toilet and tries to ring Jay at his flat. But the Messiah, as the mysterious stranger is known in the end titles, quickly grasps the situation and attacks her in the hope of locating his quarry.

Jay turns up at a key moment and is able to outwit the Messiah momentarily, giving him and Sally the chance to go on the run. This they do, but she understandably has nagging concerns along the way. Like, who's this Messiah bloke and why does he keep catching up with them no matter how slick their manoeuvres seem to be? And what's the real reason behind his relentless pursuit of Jay?

Shot in 2008 on standard-definition digital for what appears to be literally peanuts, JESUS VERSUS THE MESSIAH looks extremely cheap at times - unsurprisingly - but what many won't have expected is that as it progresses it's actually not only stylish beyond its means, but ambitious and effective too.

Phillips and Deerfield have a solid onscreen rapport. It provides the heart of the film, and affords the wonky humour in writer-director Alan Ronald's script some much-needed authenticity. Idollor has the physical presence to pull off his TERMINATOR-style pursuer, but his impact is admittedly lessened whenever he takes his hat off or chooses to drive round the empty Scottish locations in a ludicrously small red hatchback.

Beyond likeable lead characters and a crucial, tangible chemistry felt throughout, we also get plenty of smart dialogue and a rather beautiful (if somewhat overused) acoustic score that reinforces the fact that, beneath everything, Ronald's film is a Western at heart.

Those looking for polish will balk at the lo-fi aesthetics, although the photography here is deceptively good. Some striking natural locations are employed to great effect - especially during the downbeat final act. Likewise, those expecting a bloodbath can venture elsewhere: Ronald's film is more witty, more clever, more considered than that.

Having said that, the denouement is perhaps too predictable to justify waiting 65 minutes for the reveal. Oh, and if you read the back of the DVD cover (or Ronald's synopsis on IMDb) you'll know the film's 'secret' from the start...

It may have taken an age to receive an official DVD release in Blighty, but for fans the wait has been worth it. That's all thanks to the good chaps at Cine Du Monde.

Their region 0 disc presents the film uncut in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, enhancing the action for the benefit of 16x9 televisions. Images are warm in terms of colour and nicely handle issues such as contrast and compression. There is some softness in the clarity and some exterior daytime scenes do look a tad washed-out, but that's what you get when you're watching a no-budget shot-on-digital film from several years ago. Deal with it.

English audio respects the 2.0 surround mix in which the film was recorded, proffering a clean and clear playback at all times.

The disc opens to an animated main menu page. From there, an animated scene selection menu allows access to the film via 16 chapters.

Extras begin with an endearing audio commentary track from Ronald, which should be essential listening for anyone with aspirations towards making a film with extremely limited resources.

Ronald is also the host for a similarly honest, insightful 35-minute Behind-the-Scenes featurette which provides ample on-set footage as well as amiable reflective asides from the likeable director (who, it has to be said, bears a resemblance to Rik Mayall's character in 'Bad News' ...).

3 minutes of deleted scenes and 6 minutes of mirthful outtakes don't do much for me on a personal level, but it's always good to see a distributor going the extra mile by including this kind of fluff (perhaps we'll all miss such trivia once the BBFC's terrible law about making distributors pay to have bonus features rated comes into practice ...).

The film's original trailer - 1 minute and 55 seconds in length - does a fair job of conveying its ambition, limitations and assets.

Finally, we get a clutch of trailers for other titles available on DVD from Cine Du Monde: SUICIDE CLUB, KILLERKILLER, WOUND, THE DEVIL'S MUSIC, EASTER BUNNY KILL! KILL!, THE GHOULS, UNSPEAKABLE, YAKUZA HUNTERS: THE ULTIMATE BATTLE ROYALE and YAKUZA HUNTERS: THE REVENGE DUEL IN HELL.

JESUS VERSUS THE MESSIAH is a great example of what could be down with no money but bags of ambition a few years back. It uses local scenery well, creates convincing characters and sparkles due to its witty script. Cine Du Monde have done it proud with this generous disc.

Review by Stuart Willis


 
Released by Cine Du Monde
Region All
Rated 18
Extras :
see main review
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