<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n John Constantine is a Vertigo\/DC comic book hero who came into being in 1985. He is a supreme \u201cmage\u201d, or magician, part scoundrel, part good guy. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span>In Constantine <\/span><\/i><\/strong>the movie (2005) Keanu Reeves plays a kind of anti-hero, a Catholic named John Constantine (note the initials JC), who as a young man committed suicide but hell didn\u2019t want him. He is still roaming the earth, seeking redemption. He has a wry sense of humor and a really bad smoking habit; in fact it\u2019s killing him again. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span>As a child <\/span>Constantine <\/span>kept seeing things and his parents had him undergo shock therapy thinking he was mentally ill. The trauma of these treatments drove him to kill himself; but after a few minutes in hell he was back on earth, alive. Now he spends his time tracking down the half-breeds, devil-like creatures who tempt us but belong in hell, where he sends them back. They do not seem to be devils, angels, or human. And they are really, really mad at John for rounding them up and returning them to eternal damnation.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span>The film opens when the Spear that pierced Christ is discovered in <\/span>Mexico<\/span> and a man-like creature brings it to <\/span>Los Angeles<\/span>. We are then introduced to John as he carries out an exorcism that by comparison makes the 1973 film The Exorcist<\/i> look like a walk in the park.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span>Meanwhile, a cop named Angela (note the name) has a twin sister, (both played by Rachel Weisz) who commits suicide. John, as a police consultant, is called to the scene to figure out if she is a suicide (and in hell) or if someone pushed her, thus making this a homicide.\u00a0Angela and John work together to solve this mystery throughout the rest of the film. (Is she John\u2019s guardian angel?) <\/span>All the action that follows happens in a hospital and the back of a bar in the seediest, darkest part of\u00a0 that only a movie could create.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n Constantine <\/span><\/i><\/strong>continues in an almost incomprehensible plot of bad theology and horror that involves an alcoholic priest (naturally) and that Spear. You have to like Constantine and Angela though \u2013\u00a0they are easy on the eyes; Peter Stormare makes one of the best devils I have ever seen and provides much of the humor \u2013 as the film is ending.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n Constantine<\/span><\/i><\/b> as a theological exploration of good and evil,right and wrong, heaven and hell, God and Satan, makes Kevin Smith\u2019s Dogma<\/i> seem like a Sunday school or CCD (=Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) lesson straight out of the catechism. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n Constantine <\/em><\/strong>seems<\/font> <\/em><\/strong><\/font><\/span>Catholic, but looks are deceiving. As a Catholic I have to ask \u2013\u00a0what is the film really saying about Catholic Christianity? Kevin Smith in Dogma<\/i> questioned the faith he had been taught as a youngster; I think the film writers here are working from assumptions<\/i> they have about Catholicism but without any understanding of Catholic Christian theology. No one bothered to check the facts. More than anything, this makes the film seem lazy to me.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n Research, folks! Make the film at least plausible on some level. What or whose vision of reality is this rooted in?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n Generally, I like comic book movies made into movies. Daredevil, X-Men and X-Men 2<\/i>, Van Helsing<\/i>, Hellboy<\/i> and others use a Catholic visual and theological context in an entertaining, comprehensible way, even when you can\u2019t follow the plot (Van Helsing<\/i> for one). In <\/span>Constantine <\/span><\/i><\/strong>the imagery is Catholic, the theology is a mess, and the plot mired in supernatural horror and despair. Not only is the image of a benevolent God missing, the true nature of God, the human person and his\/her relationship with a benevolent God and others is obscured beyond recognition. Yes, John is capable of goodness and self-sacrifice, so we assume others are, too. But if he is some kind of savior (which I think the writers are trying to indicate by the end of the film), wow, are they confused about the balance in creation that is re-established when the grace of Christ\u2019s passion and death is bestowed unconditionally on the human person, indeed on humanity, when a person repents and makes restitution. Suicide is objetively wrong, but responsibility is entirely subjective. Therefore, the question of sin and repentance is something we must leave to God and the person.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span>Los Angeles<\/span>, the City of <\/span>Angels<\/span>, like <\/span>New York<\/span>, is frequently the site of good old disaster movies; to me this movie is a disaster from both a cinematic and theological perspective. The only angel we see who made it past the test at creation, Gabriel, crashes and burns (well, is de-winged.) Here, only Fallen Angels need apply. The film is pessimistic, dark, dank and frankly, I was mostly repelled.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n A colleague told me that the suicide theme is just a plot devise. Of course it is; what bothers me is that the characters and action are entirely driven and dominated by the idea that the Catholic Church believes that God condemns to hell people who commit suicide. Before Vatican Council II (1962-1965) it is true that the Church would not bury people who committed suicide in consecrated cemeteries because of the social and cultural stigma and ignorance associated with suicide. But with a greater understanding of the human person and a deepening of the understanding of God\u2019s mercy, this idea, teaching and practice, changed completely. It is therefore unfortunate that the mistaken notion that people who take their own lives are unequivocally condemned to hell because of suicide is perpetuated \u00a0in a pop film such as <\/span>Constantine<\/span><\/i><\/strong>.This is what I regret the most in addition to the religious horror which is simply not my style. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span>Other colleagues hold that the film will engage college students, and well it might. Males, that is. Ladies, this is not a film that will appeal to most of us because of the explicit horror. The twinges of humor, as when <\/span>Constantine <\/span>flips the devil the bird, hardly balance the unrelenting and pervasive ugliness of the film. I wonder what viewers will talk about, with a cinematic God who is so uncaring and distant from the lives of men and women as to not show up in person or through an agent of grace, and the devil, who is so near and powerful? Is this a deist or an extreme Calvinist view of the world, or a hodge-podge of uncertainty straining to be creative? It is a year since The Passion of the Christ<\/span><\/em> was released; is this the kind of religion\u00a0<\/span>Hollywood <\/span>(well,\u00a0one studio in <\/span>Hollywood<\/span>)\u00a0thinks is a worthy sequel to release at the beginning of Lent? I admit, I wrote and continue to believe that The Passion of the Christ<\/em> belongs to the horror genre, giving the genre and the film their due. Poor Constantine, <\/strong><\/em>however, makes horror look bad.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n Or is the violence and extreme horror of the film\u00a0a \u201cChristian\u201d guy thing? Do tell.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span>Plot wise, the film is in trouble from the beginning. It doesn\u2019t know what it wants to be about: the Spear (this plot could have worked for me even if it, too, is not accurate according to traditional Christian theology) or John Constantine\u2019s futile search for redemption because he has committed suicide. Nothing he does will save him, and it doesn\u2019t look like God is very interested either.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span>A friend of mine wrote this to me today about another film: <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Didn\u2019t <\/span>Flannery O\u2019Conner write: It is what is\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 invisible\u00a0that God sees and that the <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Christian must look for? This is to say, <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the first task of writing\/teaching is to <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 help folks picture the invisible. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span>The filmmakers of <\/span>Constantine <\/span><\/i><\/b>have given us a visual theological smorgasbord ofso much that is not true and made redemption look hopeless to me. Is this really what the invisible looks like? Christians, all people of good will, keep looking. The devil is not more powerful than God; the devil is not equal to God. The film can be interpreted to be saying this, I think, and this is the most troublesome aspect of the film. It reduces the theology of the redemption to a simple black and white proposition. Horror films reduce the battle between good and evil inthe same way and for some this is cathartic. This religious horror film, however, seems like a true oxymoron rather than an insightful journey into faith.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span>But I will say this. Hell makes for a much better movie visually than any vision of heaven (What Dreams May Come<\/span><\/em> tried both). If you want the \u201cbejesus\u201d to be scared out of you, then welcome to comic book hell. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n ___________<\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s what the Catholic Church really says about suicide. I don\u2019t expect Hollywood to do our work for us as people of faith. Hollywood\u2019s job is entertainment and our job is to talk about it, unpack what it produces, try to discover the human and divine, and hopefully influence movie makers of the futureto promote the dignity of the human person in beauty, truth and goodness. Constantine <\/em><\/strong>just misses the boat.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/a>The Catechism of the Catholic Church online<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.scborromeo.org\/ccc.htm<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Suicide<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n 2280<\/span><\/b> Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master oflife. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a>2281<\/span><\/b> Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God. <\/span><\/p>\n