Constantine

Christian thought emanates from dark film

—Overview
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections

Download Constantine Discussion Guide
and Bible Study pdf

Not long ago, I engaged in one of the most spiritual, God-affirming conversations I can recall with a non-Christian friend. We openly discussed spiritual warfare, God’s relationship with man and the need for a divine sacrifice to allow that relationship.

The catalyst? Constantine—a dark, R-rated film containing an abundance of violence, images of evil and a smattering of profanity.

The film stars Keanu Reeves as John Constantine (note his initials): a chain-smoking, black-trenchcoat-clad anti-hero who, despite his bitterness toward God, uses his gift of discernment to battle power-hungry demons.

Why, you may ask, is Constantine bitter? Well, apparently this gift of discernment had previously driven him to suicide, though he was expediently sent back to the world of the living. Because suicide is a cardinal sin in the Catholic tradition, Constantine thinks the only way he can avoid damnation is to battle the enemies of God. Essentially, Constantine is trying to earn his salvation before he dies of terminal lung cancer (The film does a great job as an anti-smoking campaign).

Detective Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) is in the same boat. Instead of trying to earn her own salvation, she’s trying to earn that of her twin sister. The twin (also played by Weisz) was recently condemned to Hell because her attempt at reprieve from demonic oppression led to her own suicide—one a bit more permanent than Constantine’s.

Cinematically, the film soars. Utilizing the latest in computerized effects and dark, gritty lighting, Constantine is set in an eerily believable world of darkness and misery.

With a cast rife with familiar supporting-actor faces, the film seems to take actors from their previously successful roles: Constantine is similar to Reeves’ role in The Matrix, Weisz plays a character similar to hers in The Mummy, Pruitt Taylor Vince’s priest character is a dead ringer for that wiggly-eyed freaky guy in Identity, and so on. Because of this cautious decision on the part of director Francis Lawrence, the actors’ portrayals are all good, but none are unique or memorable.

The characters themselves, however, are distinctive twists of Biblical figures. The archangel Gabriel (Tilda Swinton) is a legalistic hypocrite, jealous because God extends his grace and salvation to undeserving humans. Satan is a well-dressed, likeable guy with the tragic flaw of hubris. The various demon-possessed characters follow in the tradition of those in the New Testament and The Exorcist (mainly because an actual exorcist remained on set during much of the shoot).

What’s most intriguing to me is the structure of Constantine. Though it starts out like a mindless action flick with senseless means of demon-busting (using large mirrors, screeching beetles, a keychain of special amulets, and a number of other not-quite-biblical Hollywood interpretations of the spiritual realm), Constantine moves into Catholic tradition, and finally into fundamental Christian theology.

Though the film begins with Deist assumptions about God’s “non-interference policy,” these assumptions are later questioned in a subtle, though powerfully spiritual ending that utilizes several levels of the Greek “deus ex machina” (rescue from a divine source).

Because of this structure, a mainstream audience is less guarded against the Christian concept of humanity’s need for salvation. Conversely, the Christian audience is able to find an increasing amount of spiritual truths in an otherwise non-connective film.

Constantine’s inability to connect with the audience in the typical sense comes from the attention it must spend to establish the conventions of John Constantine’s world. Filled with Latin-speaking demons, a voodoo priest charged with keeping spiritual balance and a psychic detective, Constantine’s cross-adorned environment is complex, to say the least.

Though this complexity blends different beliefs about the afterlife with various religious worldviews, it doesn’t go to the extent of The Matrix series, which strives for a universalistic blending of religions. Instead, Constantine looks at the occult and paranormal activity through the lens of Christian thought. Though not strict Christianity, this blend allows for incredible dialogue between the mature Christian and the non-Christian.

Spiritual maturity is key in viewing Constantine. Movies like this can really confuse children or new Christians. As with anything we put into our minds, it’s important that we have a firm grasp on what we believe before we can hope to get anything but spiritual insecurity out of such a cohesive blend of secular and divine.

—Overview
—Trailers, Photos
—About this Film pdf
—Spiritual Connections