Grim slice of contemptible life in the American South has a desperate young Texas drug dealer at his wits end. Chris has incurred a sizable debt with a drug lord and now he needs to somehow raise the money to pay him off. Joe is a contract killer (and corrupt police detective). When the chance arises for Chris to hire him to murder his mother in order to collect on her life insurance policy, he seizes the opportunity. His teenage sister Dottie is the actual monetary beneficiary and she’s inadvertently drawn into their vile web. Pulitze Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts adapts his 1993 Off-Broadway play for this screen adaptation directed by none other than William Friedkin, dubbed the “enfant terrible“ of 70s cinema. Friedkin and Letts worked before on the 2006 psychological horror film Bug starring Ashley Judd.
A surprise to no one, Friedkin’s dark comedy is a daring tale for an adult audience. Appropriating the cinematic lexicon of past auteurs, William Friedkin’s southern gothic fable rests comfortably among the most taboo inclinations of directors like Sam Peckinpah David Lynch, the Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino. In fact Killer Joe has been awarded an NC-17 by the Motion Picture Association of America for its decidedly vivid combination of violence and sexuality. The move effectively limits the audience as no one under 17 may attend, period. Indeed, Killer Joe pushes boundaries. Where the camera might cut away to lesson the impact of the brutality in other films, Friedkin’s gaze is fixed directly on the utter savagery. One violent altercation is a graphic display of punches to the face. A character is repeatedly hit over and over to a bloody climax that becomes cartoonish for its sound effects and blood. The action genuinely earns its rating. This is a cult picture meant for select tastes.
Killer Joe’s script crackles with an intensity that’s kind of rare in modern cinema. There’s a loopy abandon to the dialogue. It’s as if any character will say or do anything to preserve their own skin. Juno Temple is Dottie Smith, Chris’s wide eyed, virginal sister. It’s hard to tell whether she’s as morally bankrupt as the rest of her clan or just incredibly simpleminded. When she overhears her dad and brother plotting her mom’s murder, she offers “I heard y’all talking about killing mama. I think it’s a good idea.” Later Joe demands that Chris put Dottie up as “collateral” when he isn’t able to produce his fee outright. Father Ansel, played by Thomas Haden Church, being the protective type he is, suggests “that it just might do her some good.” But the MVP of the film is Matthew McConaughey. He’s an actor reborn. Starting with The Lincoln Lawyer in 2011, his re-commitment to interesting parts continues. The relationship between him and Chris’ teen sister Dottie is sort of the twisted nucleus of the film. His magnetic character is just as flawed, perhaps more so, as the rest of this sordid lot. However his patented slow-talking, southern drawl sets him apart from the rest of these hyperactive, loud mouthed personalities.
To elevate these denizens to a moniker like “trailer trash” is a compliment. They embody the lowest instincts of a human being and their unscrupulous values are a full frontal assault on the senses. Right from the beginning this is apparent when Ansel’s girlfriend Sharla answers the front door, naked from the waist down. The portrait of this family is dysfunctional to say the least. The descent into moral depravity is frequently exploited for laughs. Their behavior is so shocking, it’s humorous but at times regrettable. These people are baseless, amoral types that are so outlandish, they’ll either have you rolling in the aisles or running for the shower.
18 Responses
Excellent review Mark. I’ve been wanting to see this for some time. Whether I’ll like it or not is something else entirely but you’ve given a great write up here.
Thank you. I suspect you’ll be able to brave the film’s more adult content. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart.
The more I’m hearing about it, the more it’s sounding like Michael Winterbottom’s The Killer Inside Me. I really liked that so theres a chance I could appreciate this.
I haven’t seen that, but an interesting comaprison as violence affected the reviews of that film as well. This is more than violent though. It’s twisted.
I think i will give this a chance, but for me films focusing on unsympathetic protagonists can be tricky.
Like there a few with them i enjoyed,but i think for the most part they are hard to make work for the viewer
The protagonists need not be likable, but it helps if they feel like fully realized characters. Here the leads seem more designed to shock than to represent real people.
I liked this movie a lot too. The biggest thing it has going against it is the NC-17 rating. I’m not sure what the difference between NC-17 and a “hard R” is, but for some reason its enough to void any recommendation you have of a movie useless.
The MPAA is never too specific about what pushes a film past R into NC-17 territory but that fried chicken scene clearly warranted the harsher rating.
There aren’t any theaters showing this near me, and if there were, I still couldn’t see it because of the MPAA rating. I’d say it’s about time the MPAA starts giving NC-17 ratings for graphic violence and not just explicit sex. I just saw “Hannibal” yesterday and at times was appalled that an NC-17 wasn’t considered. :/ I’d try to rent this when it comes to DVD, but a) Redbox–what I typically use for new rentals–doesn’t allow rentals beyond an R rating, and b) I doubt the conversation would go anywhere if I asked my parents if I could watch it. Up there with “Pulp Fiction” and “Deliverance” in the list of movies I most likely won’t get a chance to see until I’m 18. Still, great review.
Hannibal is a disgusting vile piece of trash. Not only does it obliterate the boundaries of good taste, but it trashes everything the original characters were about.
I just saw your comment on my review…you must really hate it!
I thought this movie was ugly, disgusting, poorly edited, at times poorly written and vulgar for vulgarities sake. I didn’t think it could get any worse than “Bug”, but damn, I was wrong. These Friedkin/Letts experiments need to end. Great review, but your giving this film too much credit with a 3 star rating. I hear Letts has written the screenplay for “August: Osage County”, the one (I think) he won the pulizer for and I pray that it is better that this garbage. By the way, I thought the real MVP here was Gina Gershon, she is the only CONSISTENT saving grace here.
Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts have confirmed they will be in the film adaptation of August: Osage County.
I find it ironic that you champion Gina Gershon in this but rebuke the film for being too vulgar. She was one of the most depraved characters in the entire film. Every disgusting scene featured her.
Fantastic review, Mark! I’m really looking forward to seeing this one. Everyone seems to be praising it, McConaughey and Temple.
Good review Mark. I haven’t been able to see this one yet, but it does look interesting.
Nice review – mine is up now – http://nomoss832801.wordpress.com/full-reviews/killer-joe/ – i <3 THIS film
I found it interesting, first of all, that there were so many senior citizens at the theater to see this movie. NC-17 did not scare these people. lol . Anyway, because of the movie rating, I expected exactly what I saw. It was vulgar and violent, but I kind of enjoyed it, a little. I thought the acting was done well. The writing was meant to be funny, and I laughed quite a bit. So yes, overall, I was entertained.