Directed by:
William FriedkinCinematography:
Caleb DeschanelComposer:
Tyler BatesCast:
Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Gina Gershon, Thomas Haden Church, Danny Epper, Scott A. Martin, Gralen Bryant Banks, Marc Macaulay (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
When drug dealer Chris (Emile Hirsch) has his stash stolen by his mother, he plans to dispatch of her and cash in on her $50,000 life insurance to repay his debts. He hires Detective Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a dirty cop who moonlights as a contract killer, who sets his sight on Chris’ innocent sister Dottie (Juno Temple) as collateral for the job. But the agreement turns complicated when Dottie forms a bond with Killer Joe and everything begins to unravel. Killer Joe is a controversial and shocking black comedy thriller from director William Friedkin. (Entertainment One)
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Reviews (10)
The ace up William Friedkin’s sleeve is not the plot but the eccentricity of its characters and what it can lead to. That is, what
they’re capable of and how they deal with situations gone wrong in their redneck shortsightedness. An excellent
“chicken blowjob” scene. I didn’t hope for anything like this from Matthew McConaughey in the age of A Time to Kill and Amistad. This actor is rising to the stars! And it’s not just him, the entire cast is excellent here. A brutal movie with big balls and a
not exactly sound mind.
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Insanity, and total insanity at that. I absolutely wouldn't dare predict how the whole thing might turn out. It's not a consequence of the "subtlety" and "thoughtfulness" of the story, it's more a consequence of the fact that the behavior of the characters in this film is completely unpredictable, and what may appear to be an overly bizarre solution to the "problem" here (either in physical terms or some kind of reasoning) may be considered one of the alternatives – and even the most "acceptable" alternative. Friedkin bets on the bizarreness of the story right from the beginning – the opening dialogue in the rain lures you in such a way that afterwards you simply devour the whole film like a cherry (though it’s not impossible to vomit some of it up). The ensemble of actors is really great, but Matthew McConaughey towers slightly above the rest.
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Killer Joe is known to me from the theater stage. My wife was somewhat disgusted by the performance, which obviously tried to appeal to a younger audience and was far from the classic form of bourgeois theater. Partying, intercourse, violence... basically not something for delicate souls. However, I appreciated the black sarcastic humor and I would rate the theatrical play highly. Tracy Letts delved into the life of American white poverty, which we know best in the stylized performance of the sitcom My Name is Earl. But here, it is significantly more raw and devoid of softening humor. No textbook characters, not much intelligence, and considerably down-to-earth motivations. On the stage, the play functioned as a completely cynical comedy, whereas William Friedkin shifted it more toward the position of a classic crime thriller, and I slightly dislike this shift. Matthew McConaughey functions more as a violent maniac and sexual deviant rather than a pragmatic provider of special services who increasingly demands payment for the work done. As for the casting and acting, I have no objections, but I would appreciate it much more if the film stuck to my original vision of Killer Joe as a dark comedy about very flawed people. Overall impression: 65%.
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William Friedkin is again at the top of his game. Killer Joe is a thriller with a not very original plot, but it compensates that with several pleasantly unexpected twists, an uncompromisingly dirty atmosphere and fantastic performances by most of the people involved. Most of the attention is drawn by the wonderfully sleazy Matthew McConaughey, his Joe will no doubt be one of the best film villains of the year. The other actors are also very good, only Emile Hirsch was a little unconvincing. One of the most pleasant surprises in recent years, thumbs up. Very intense climax. 9/10
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So one day, you’re going through Matthew McConaughey’s movies and watch all of these American hillbillies hanging out with him. His role in this movie – killer Joe – is basically the only normally thinking person in this entire movie. Even though he also has his “moments”. For example, the ending is a downright delicacy for movie connoisseurs. But the people he surrounds himself with are the sorts of characters who look like they’ve had five pints of beer and escaped from a loony bin. Their behavior, actions, reactions to certain situations… nothing here makes any sense. To be honest, I didn’t get it. And I was fascinated by Juno Temple who is apparently twelve in this movie. What?! Well, in any case, I have to say that the movie had balls and that’s why I’m rating it three stars.
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