Killer Joe

I'll Never Look at KFC the Same Again....

To paraphrase Daniel Plainview, Killer Joe is one goddamn hell of a show. It is directed by William Friedkin (of Exorcist fame) from a screenplay by Tracy Letts, adapted from his own play. I know nothing of the play. Only of the film that I've seen. Friedkin and Letts similarly collaborated recently on the Ashley Judd/Michael Shannon film Bug (which is an excellent psychological thriller). Previously he also directed The Hunted (which I actually enjoyed). Those are the only three films he's made in the past decade.

Killer Joe is rated NC-17, and rightfully so. It contains plenty of violence, sex, sexual violence, and some of the most dimwitted characters to grace the screen in a good while. The protagonist (I guess that's what you call him) Chris, played by Emile Hirsch - to great effect, I might add, isn't very likable, and ultimately we don't much care about him. When Chris finds himself in considerable trouble with some drug dealers after his mother steals his stash of cocaine (which he would have sold to pay these people back), he talks with his father (now divorced from Chris's mother) about having her murdered by a man named Killer Joe (Matthew McConaughey, in one of his very best performances), they two very casually agree its a good idea. There is some debate, but I say "casually" because it is quite casual when it comes to the subject of murder. As I said, these people aren't very smart. Even Dottie (Juno Temple), Chris's younger sister and Ansel's (Thomas Haden Church) daughter says its a good idea. Apparently none of these people like Chris and Dottie's mother much.

(From left to right) Chris, Sharla, Ansel, and Dottie

Enter: Killer Joe. He's a lawman - a detective for the Dallas Police to be precise - who moonlights as a murderer for hire. He's also a sadistic psychopath, but we'll get to that later. His price is $25,000, which of course Chris doesn't have, or he wouldn't be in this pickle. Joe initially bids them adieu since they don't have the money, but reconsiders when he decides Dottie might be a nice retainer until the life insurance policy can be collected and Joe gets his fee.

From there, the plot twists and turns, the events of which I shall not describe, but only say there is a fair amount of blood, beatings, sex, and sexual violence. It's telling when the first shot of a female character in the film frames her completely below the belt - without any clothing of any kind. But the film isn't gratuitous in its nudity or violence. For example, in the aforementioned shot of a woman's vagina, we immediately know what kind of family this. And the sexual violence serves to show what kind of person Killer Joe really is. Beneath his charming demeanor, there exists a more malevolent, completely psychotic soul. McConaughey plays Joe to perfection; I see not a single flaw in the snake-like, suave, deranged show he puts on. Consider one scene, early on, where he is alone with Dottie. They're having dinner. She has changed from a dress to her regular clothes, saying the dress "isn't me." Joe asks to see the dress, and then asks her to put it on, in front of him. She strips to her bra and underwear ("panties" she insists). He then asks her to remove these remaining garments, but before she does, he turns around. Not out of decency - certainly not; he's about to take her virginity, and when it comes to sex, he's a few screws loose of decent. She strips to being completely nude, and then he asks her to put the dress on.

Juno Temple as Dottie Smith

Or consider another scene involving Joe, Ansel, Ansel's wife, and a drumstick of KFC chicken. I'll say no more, other than the sexuality and ultimate orgasm on behalf of Joe in this scene is very telling of his nature.

What of the other performances? Hirsch, as the main character, is wonderful, but we care little for his character, and thus it doesn't stand out much. But that's fine. It isn't meant to. Particularly wonderful are McConaughey (as previously mentioned), Thomas Haden Church, who carries some of the film's finest darkly comedic moments, and the youngest character of the film played by Juno Temple. She's the epitome of innocence and victimization, though she hardly seems to feel victimized. In fact she likes Joe a good deal. He's good to her. I understand it. This is the first film that Temple has stood out for me in; probably because it's the first film where she's been given a character with depth to build on. I've learned she was in (that I've seen), Notes on a Scandal, Atonement, Greenberg, and most recently, The Dark Knight Rises, but don't ask me to tell you who she was in that film. Here she displays an exquisite ability to display innocence, intelligence, endearment, and ignorance all at once. Along with McConaughey, she's the true highlight of the film.

Beyond the acting, the film has flawless direction, and brilliant cinematography. This small Texas town and the trailer parker where the Smith family resides is portrayed with a grimy, dark, literally "trailer trash" aesthetic. As Roger Ebert noted in his review, "William Friedkin's Killer Joe is one hell of a movie. It left me speechless. I can't say I loved it. I can't say I hated it. It is expertly cast, flawlessly directed, and written with merciless black humor by Tracy Letts." I agree with all of that, except I can say: I loved it.

This is a great film; a fine showcase for one of McConaughey's best performances (perhaps his very best); a great opportunity for Juno Temple to exhibit her acting chops; and a hilariously dark film about one of the most fucked up and incompetent families to grace the silver screen. Though they do it with little grace. I hope Friedkin continues his recent trend (along with Bug) of making provocative, dark, neo-noir, expertly cast films. Unfortunately, due to the NC-17 rating of this film, and its extremely limited availability to the general public, I doubt it will receive much awards attention (even from the Indie Spirits, where this film should receive at least six nominations). As I said of Shame, I can't disagree with the NC-17 rating. I just wish there weren't such a stigma attached to it.

An amazing, outstanding film. If you can stomach it.

****/****