Released: April 2018
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Rated R
Run Time: 89 Minutes
Distributor: Lionsgate Studios/Amazon Studios
Genre: Thriller
Cast:
Joaquin Phoenix: Joe
Judith Roberts: Joe’s Mother
Frank Pando: Angel
John Doman: John McCleary
Alex Manette: Senator Albert Votto
Ekaterina Samsonov: Nina
Well, HERE’S a surprise: Two reviews in one day? What are the odds? Not very high. What makes today so unusual for me, is not just that I’m doing TWO reviews today, but both reviews are of movies starring Joaquin Phoenix. Both movies also deal with some pretty dark and heavy subject matter. When I reviewed Joker, I mentioned how much of an amazing actor he truly is. I’ve been a huge fan of his since Gladiator. When it comes to really dark subject matter, I tend to get interested really quick. Especially if it’s a character study like Joker. But sometimes, I really like a good, violent kidnap thriller. Ransom, Taken, Prisoners, and Furie, among others. What I love about kidnap thrillers, especially ones that deal with human trafficking, is that there is time crunch involved. It really amps the tension to another level knowing that there’s a time limit to recovering the victim. The best films of this kind can accomplish the story and action within 90 minutes. It doesn’t necessarily need to be more complicated than that. Well, after seeing Joker, I decided to take a look at one of Joaquin Phoenix’s more recent flicks: You Were Never Really Here.
Joaquin Phoenix stars as Joe, a former soldier and FBI agent whose new specialty is locating and rescuing young girls that have been trafficked. The film opens as Joe has successfully completed a mission. Shortly after, he’s contacted by his handler, John McCleary, who tells him to contact a certain Senator Albert Votto. The good senator contacted Joe, because Albert’s daughter, Nina, went missing over a weekend and is believed to be held in a den for child sex traffickers. Taking the job, Joe prepares to locate and find the girl by getting supplies including a ball peen hammer that he uses to dispatch evil-doers. Soon after, he realizes that this job might not be as simple as he expected it to be. Most kidnap thrillers should be rather straight-forward without deviating to far from the main plot-line, and You Were Never Really Here is no exception. The story is simple yet compelling. It goes to some dark places, especially with Joaquin’s character, as we see him suffering from flashbacks of some the horrible things that he’s witnessed over the years. It’s pretty slickly paced and there moments where it slows down and gives us a bit of a glimpse into Joe’s life. It’s pretty solid.
Joaquin Phoenix, as an actor, is a force of nature. Considering how amazing his performance was in Joker, he still put in a lot of effort to make Joe a really sympathetic, yet brutal, character. This is a character that suffers from PTSD, and uses his business of rescuing kidnapped girls as a form of redemption, I guess you could say. What Joaquin brings to the table is a real sense of gravitas and surprising amount of emotion to a character that basically beats people to death with a ball peen hammer. The character is definitely out of shape, and Joaquin obviously adjusted his body to account for that. He just inhabits every role that he takes on. What I really like here is Joe’s relationship with Nina, the kidnapped girl. There’s definitely a connection there, even though you don’t really see the girl for a good chunk of the film, but Ekaterina Samsonov’s performance is pretty good. Overall, the performances are pretty decent across the board.
You Were Never Really Here was known for being particularly brutal when it comes to violence. Here’s the thing about that: Yeah, some of the action and violence can be brutal. But, what’s really most important about that isn’t what you see. Rather, it’s what you don’t see. Often, we, as the audience come up these violent acts as they have already taken place or out of shot. One of the most unique uses of the camera is when Joe is rampaging in the trafficking den looking for Nina. Most of the action is shot from what are essentially security cameras. It’s done in black and white, and there really isn’t any sound, which actually makes the violent acts that much more violent, interestingly enough. Taking a ball peen hammer to somebody’s skull is a pretty brutal act in and of itself, regardless if the person on the receiving end deserves it or not. It can be pretty harsh. There are definitely some grisly images of violence that take place after a person has been brutalized. The film doesn’t shy away from violence, nor does it glorify it. The approach to showing the violence, however, is something that I really haven’t seen before, so kudos to director Lynne Ramsay for doing something unique.
The film is incredibly well shot with some really great cinematography. One of my favorite scenes is when Joe is giving his mother a water burial. It’s a very somber moment, but at the same time it’s incredibly beautiful with slow-motion in a fairly peaceful moment. The music from Jonny Greenwood is also pretty nifty. There’s a decent amount of electronic music involved which definitely adds to the ambiance of the film. If there’s a negative or two about the film that I have is that the violence isn’t necessarily brutal enough. I honestly would’ve liked a bit more bloodshed, but I definitely appreciate the restraint. Also, some of the characters aren’t particularly interesting, especially the main villain, who don’t really see until the final moments of the film, and even then he doesn’t say a word.
In my opinion, I think You Were Never Really Here is a pretty damn solid kidnap thriller that actually gets you to feel something for the main character. Joaquin’s performance, again, is fantastic and the film moves at a pretty quick pace. Do I recommend it? Hell, yeah, I do. It does get pretty heavy at times, due to the film’s tone and all that, but it’s definitely worth checking out.
My Final Recommendation: Never mess with a guy wielding a ball peen hammer. 9.5/10