Lynne Ramsey follows her powerful adaptation of We Need To Talk About Kevin by teaming up with Joaquin Phoenix for this tense existential thriller.
Joe appears to live a quiet life with his mother. He barely talks with anyone and in his moments alone reveals how damaged he is by his military past. But to a select few, there is another side to Joe. He finds children that have been kidnapped and exacts brutal vengeance on the offenders. When a US Senator’s young daughter is taken, Joe quickly locates her. But he soon finds himself caught up in a nefarious network of conspiracy and power. And as the body count increases, the demons unleashed in Joe become a violent and unstoppable fury. Ramsay’s direction is lean and it explores Joe’s troubled psyche. And Phoenix is at his angsty best. A more nuanced performance than his Oscar-winning turn as Joker, he gradually draws us into Joe’s maelstrom. And the Ramsay’s decision to have almost all the violence take place off screen only adds to the film’s power.
