Movie: Killer Joe
Director: William Friedkin
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch and Juno Temple
Rating: **1/2
*This review may contain spoilers
If you were to go by the name of the film, then “Killer Joe” is definitely not for someone who’d become queasy at the sight of blood or sickening action. What begins as a perfect setting for a dark thriller turns irksome post-interval and eventually becomes a superficial film with gruesome climax. For those who were under the assumption that this film was made on the lines of “The Killer Inside Me” with Lynch style filmmaking, then you’re absolutely wrong because “Killer Joe” in simple words is soft porn with violent streak.
Chris Smith, a Texan drug peddler, in order to save himself from getting killed from failure to clear his debt, should murder his mother to collect $50,000 insurance money. He convinces his father to hire a contract killer named Joe Cooper, a dirty cop, to do the job.
Meanwhile, as per Chris’s mother’s will, Dottie, Chris’s younger sister is the beneficiary, which means she will get all the money. Having learnt about the will, Chris convinces Dottie to be part of the plan and in return ensures a cut from the reminder of the insurance money.
However, there’s one little problem – Joe always prefers taking his fee in advance but unfortunately the father-son duo barely have any money left to cough up even half of Joe’s fee. Joe agrees to do the job if Dottie is given to him as retainer until the insurance money comes through. What follows forms the rest of the story?
‘Killer Joe’ has everything to be named one of the best films of 2012, but sadly it has no widespread appeal, you will either appreciate the dark observations of the director or you will feel the whole thing is just too ugly to be entertainment.
All the filth you see in the film such as violence, sex, nudity and drugs, is shrouded by criminal agenda. William’s characters are the kind of people you don’t even want to think about, let alone make acquaintance, yet you’re made to spend close to two hours with them. There’s too much of talking in the film in the form of powerful dialogues that carries the narrative gradually towards a climax, which according to some may be cracker-jack of an ending, while for others literally gruesome.
Matthew, whose career is adorned with a bevy of flops, returns strongly in a character a la “Bernie” and “Lincoln Lawyer”. As Killer Joe, he not only succeeds in his role, but delivers one of the finest menacing characters of our time. The precision and charm with which he mouths his lines are proof to the actor’s capability that’s used to the fullest by few filmmakers such as Friedkin and Linklater.
Emily Hirsch and Gina Gershon were brilliant in their respective roles, especially the latter in a career best performance since her best in Wachowski Brothers’ “Bound”.
William, with an impressive list of films such as “The Exorcist” and “French Connection” in his kitty, makes a comeback after five long years with a film that falls short of wholesome satisfaction. “Killer Joe” works for its offbeat presentation of violence and crime, but doesn’t quite impress on the cinematic front.