flarrfan This is a good movie, but it's not a great film. The book is great, and the movie is faithful to the book, which often reads like a screenplay because of the way O'Connor used dialogue. The director (Huston), with only a few minor deviations from the book's description of characters' inner thoughts, makes pretty much the point the author intended. For those confused about the director/author's viewpoint, I think Miss O'Connor's spoiler foreward to a later edition of the book gives it all away:"That belief in Christ is to some a matter of life and death has been a stumbling block for some readers who would prefer to think it a matter of no great consequence. For them, Hazel Motes's integrity lies in his trying with such vigor to get rid of the ragged figure who moves from tree to tree in the back of his mind. For the author, Hazel's integrity lies in his not being able to do so. Does one's integrity ever lie in what he is not able to do? I think that usually it does, for free will does not mean one will, but many wills conflicting in one man. Freedom cannot be conceived simply. It is a mystery and one which a novel, even a comic novel, can only be asked to deepen." Thus the mystery about meaning reflected in many of the comments here and on the message board, a mystery which even a black comedy film adaptation can only deepen as well.

Jon Hartz Too many anachronisms to stomach, it looks like the 1970's instead of the years right after WWII. They did not spend enough money on production to make it believable. I mean, Afros, large sunglasses, modern skyscrapers, modern clothes? Really? The rented steam train does not come close to making up for everything else. That, and the bad acting did it for me. I have never read the book and I wonder if the screenplay is true to it: Flannery O'Connor is an excellent author, I can't believe she wrote it like this. That, and the anti-Christian subtext is very disturbing. My bride and I sat through about thirty minutes before we threw in the towel.

Degree7 So John Huston's "Wise Blood" is a cult adaptation of a cult novel, and has a very cult-y feel to it, as in offbeat and satirical.It's also a film with a lot of odd scenarios and very strange, earnest characters that try to reach out to the main character of Hazel Motes. Hazel has just returned from an unspecified war, and has a lot of foul baggage that he carries around from his days as the son of a manic preacher.People try to get to know this defiant, and sometimes irrational man, but the only thing he has on his mind is spreading the idea that people don't need Jesus to save them. The only problem is, he's living in a community where Jesus is the bedrock of every day life."Wise Blood" has a few faults though. Sometimes the characters border on downright irritating, and there seems to be a curious lack of momentum to the story. The filmmakers seemed to dryly interpret the source material, and figured the result would be able to stand on its own. But the viewer is quite often left in the dark to a lot of the events. One part of the climax has a character blinding himself with chemicals, and this should have been the most dramatic part of the story, but is instead almost glossed over so matter-o-factly that it only further alienates the viewer from understanding the character motivations.Believe me, it's a Weird film with a capital W. But from amongst it, the towering Brad Dourif shines in an attention-grabbing role, and he only shows his range and talent as a character actor. There are times when he becomes so fixated with fighting back against those he thinks are 'hypocrites' that he becomes almost frightening. The only problem is that the rest of the film is somewhat lackadaisical about its more disturbing content, and the lassez-faire attitude keeps the audience at arms length throughout.What it lacks in direct punch, "Wise Blood" makes up for as a twisted morality tale on the lengths that religious obsession and guilt will string those along, in this very dark comedy. A low 7 from me.

Lechuguilla The premise is fairly straightforward. Owing to bitterness and anger directed at his preacher father, a young Georgia man named Hazel Motes (Brad Dourif) sets out to start his own church, "the church of truth without Christ", founded on a belief system that deliberately contradicts the fundamentalist, orthodox beliefs of his Southern heritage.The essence of this film is Hazel Motes. Everything else orbits this central character. And what a character! Maybe his motives are pure; maybe he means well. But his perspective is blatantly and wildly distorted, even grotesque. His fanatical obsession toward his rebel cause blinds him to reality and the goodness around him. He insults those he comes in contact with. His hateful self-righteousness leads to opinionated, combative personal relations. Dourif's acting amplifies Motes' repugnant personality. I found both the character and the actor very hard to take.By contrast, Motes' ambient Southern environment seems much more real and inviting. I can easily connect with the Southerners in this film, and the non-professional actors and extras that appear. Further, the prod design mirrors quite well the poverty and general bleakness of the South in the era the film was made. That culture is rich in atmosphere and history. Yet there's an undeniable melancholy and depression that washes over the entire region. And the film does a good job of expressing that mood."Wise Blood" is a product of the turbulent era of the late 60s and early 70s, a period of intense suspicion toward all institutions, including organized religion. The director, John Huston, did not like religion. Given these antecedents, the film is bound to come across as slightly heretical to some viewers.I react to this art-house film with ambivalence. I dislike intensely the character of Hazel Motes. And I think Dourif overplays the role. Yet I appreciate the script's underlying premise with the accompanying conflicts, contradictions, and humor that a well-developed story can lead to. And I like the Southern setting, authentic and down-home.An adequate interpretation of this film requires the viewer's full attention. "Wise Blood" is most assuredly a black comedy. Yet it is not a film to take lightly.