Killer Joe (2011)

Killer Joe is a twisted view of an American family in Dallas, Texas.  Matthew McConaughey is superb as a likable guy playing the psychopathic Killer Joe Cooper.  The humour is dark and it takes the archetypal fairytale of a girl looking for her prince and completely warps it into a blood bath.  A great atmospheric thriller brilliantly directed by William Friedkin.

Killer Joe (2011)

Director: William Friedkin
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Thomas Haden Church, Juno Temple and Gina Gershon.
Running Time: 102 Minutes

The narrative follows Chris Smith (Emile Hirsch) who after finding himself in debt to a drug dealer decides he needs to have his mother killed for her life insurance.  Not one to get his hands dirty Chris, along with his father Ansel (Thomas Haden Church), step mother Sharla (Gina Gershon) and sister Dottie (Juno Temple) decide to turn to a murderer for hire.  Matthew McConaughey plays Joe Cooper a corrupt police detective who has a side job as a murderer known as Killer Joe.  Joe waves his normal upfront fee after Chris cannot come up with it.  In lieu of the fee Joe takes Dottie as a retainer as she intrigues him.  Dottie is a little peculiar as she suffered trauma as a child and has some brain damage from this event.  Dottie is also a virgin which is one of the attractions to Joe.  Obviously the plan does not run smoothly as you would expect and the bizarre disturbing mayhem ensues.

Overall the narrative for Killer Joe impressed me as it was very original.  Tracy Letts the screenwriter has previously worked with William Friedkin before on the 2006 film Bug, a film about an unstable war veteran who spends time with a lonely woman in a hotel room in Oklahoma.  The lines between reality and delusion get blurred as the room becomes infested with bugs.  While Killer Joe is more set in reality it does have moments of unexplained peculiarity with dream like states.  The story in not overly complex but it does have a twist towards the end that leads to a very disturbing confrontation at the close of the narrative, let's just say you'll never look at a chicken drumstick the same way.

William Friedkin's filmography speaks for itself with films like The French Connection (1971) and The Exorcist (1973).  While I may not be the biggest fan of The Exorcist I cannot deny that it is a brilliant piece of technical filmmaking.  Friedkin uses his skill here again in Killer Joe where he teams up with the brilliant cinematographer Caleb Deschanel.   The mise en scene in this film is fantastic, whether it be in the eerie rainy nights or the dust bowl landscape of the day he creates a rich environment in which to explore the narrative.  The mise en scene adds to the films kinetic visual style which at times can be almost frantic but serves to display a narrative which is similarly so.  I often watch films and wonder why that film was given an 18 certificate but here I had no such pondering as it earns it certification and then some.  There are several scenes of violent beatings and a lot of sex and nudity.  However, the scenes are a fundamental part of the narrative and never come across as unnecessary or gratuitous.

Matthew McConaughey chills as evil Killer Joe

The acting talent is similarly impressive in this film as they all shine in their own way and bring the narrative to life.  There were two standouts for me however, Matthew McConaughey and Juno Temple.  Matthew McConaughey just oozes charisma from his costume down to the way he delivers his lines.  He makes Killer Joe believable and even though for the majority of the film he appears calm and relaxed you can see the anger and violence lurking underneath through McConaughey's performance.  One scene which highlights Joe's eerie power is when he takes Dottie's virginity, directing her at every step through the process.  Throughout the movie there is a dog chained up outside a nearby trailer who seems constantly enraged to barking fits but is chained up and so can do no actual damage to anyone unless he is released.  For me the dog served as a metaphor for Killer Joe who is chained up throughout the movie by his own restraint but when he chooses to unleash himself the violence that ensues is what the audience expects was bubbling underneath all along.  McConaughey is a talented actor, for me this knowledge is nothing new as his performance in A Time to Kill (1996) proved that to me a long time ago.  The problem is the roles he has chosen since then in romantic comedies, the majority of which are forgetful with the odd exception of films such as How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days (2003).  I hope he does more films like Killer Joe and A Time to Kill that allow him to demonstrate his acting chops.

Juno Temple was also impressive as the troubled younger sister Dottie.  She plays her with such skill that her slightly left of field actions do not come across as ridiculous but rather perfectly Dottie.  From her first meeting with Killer Joe you can sense the tension and Temple plays the insecurities and fears of the young girl with genuine believability.  In the climactic scene of the movie she really comes into her own and in the final moment the audience and the characters realise that the one with the power all along was the one they least expected.

The films ending for me was what sealed the deal on me rating the film as it is ambiguous and so the viewer gets to decide on what action Dottie takes to finish the narrative.  The climactic final scene serves to finalise the narrative to a satisfying conclusion but allowing for the varied desires of the audience to all become fulfilled at the same time.

Final Verdict

Killer Joe will make you laugh and shock the hell out of you.  By the close of the film you will be questioning what is wrong with you for watching such a thing and even worse actually liking the film.  The narrative is interesting enough to hold the audience's attention, the acting is superb and Friedkin has directed a film that is both technically superior and a captivating experience.

8/10