"Joe, wake up. It's a beautiful day".
"You Were Never Really Here" is a cold and brutal revenge story that isn't for everybody. Wasn't a slow burn or the usual art house film you'd expect. The story is straight forward; we see a suicidal, possibly sexual abused veteran trying to rescue a missing girl from sex slavery, but it's presentation is different. After it was over, I struggle to collect my thoughts and needed to take time to suck all the details.
But the more I think about it, the more I like and appreciate it. Themes play a big part, instead of plot. Leaving you to fill in the gapes. This might be frustrating for some people.
Joaquin Phoenix was amazing, as usual. The way he portrays a soft and rough person with a long history of violence told through his eyes. Phoenix was extraordinary to watch. You can feel the sweat, blood, and tears come off the screen in a couple of scenes.
Lynne Ramsay manages to build up this atmosphere and anxiety through her excellent directing. Even the on/off-screen violence made the film's energy of brutality so uncomfortable. Mixed with Jonny Greenwood's vicious and tense soundtrack. Of course the trashy and beautiful cinematography, only adds to the dream-like feel of it.
Issues I had with the film (which are small) is how too simply the story line is or the flashback scenes could have been executed a little better. That's really it, to be honest.
Overall rating: Interesting look on the new "Taxi Driver".
Certainly this is Taxi Driver for the 21st century but with director Lynne Ramsey’s distinctive stamp all over it. We stil see wet, seedy, dark locations as Joe traverses the underbelly of society but this is juxatobpose by bright, clear, colours and well-lit scenes. Joe is multilayered and fair from being portrayed as a somewhat likeable pyscho or even unlikealbe one he is shown, and amazingly acted by Phoenix, as a basically normal man with huge flaws. He has a disasterious past that bubbles to the surface from time to time, he is horrifyingly violent but only in when the circumstance arises, other than that he’s a somewhat scruffy, beardy bloke, you might pass on the street.
Sure the film is slow past with plenty of shots of Joe ‘thinking’ or wandering about, the flashbacks are cut-editted in, I liked this but I can see how others would get confused or irritated but let’s think about this. It’s slow-placed, a bit boring, so there aren’t enough flashy, explody, bang-bang-bang films out there for you? This is the opposite. You can drink this without scolding your lips.
The story is shockingly violent. Violence seams throughout the running time like some precious ore yet Ramsay very clearly says right from the beginning she’s not interested in the violence despite it being part of the life-blood of the film. In a lesser director’s hands I could have watching arterial spurting, brain splattering and hearing bone-crunching sounds alongside screeching and screaming. With Ramsay we see it remotely, in black and white through security cameras, or the aftermath, which is a bit gory, or it is entirely implied. I wish more film-makers did this, torture and gore porn have never been mine thing and worries me that so many people seem to get a kick out of it when at times it seems to he the only reason for the film – but I digress.
Joaquin Phoenix as Joe is centre and stage and fills the screen as a big bear of a man who seems on the outside normal although clearly troubled. all other roles and actors are bobbing in his wake. With this type of presence on the screen you need an actor with big shoulders to carry you and with the mercurical Phoenix, Ramsay got her man. Few other actors could have had the screen presence to carry this and the film would have been very different without him.
As a story You Were Never Really Here is actually as straight forward conspiracy that goes to the very top story with a loner tough-guy sorting it out but give it an actor and director and the top of the games, let them twist the plot and pacing the way they want it to go and you get something that is greater than the sum of its parts.
‘The man with the ball pane hammer’ will not be for everyone but if you give it a chance, maybe view it in the right frame of mind and perhaps watch it more than once you will see more than you first thought you did. It is good.
Finally like Taxi Driver is there a subtext to tell what is happening throughout the film – the title, the final scenes, well it should get some debate going but in the end you make your own mind up as you should with all good films.
Fucking Skip It
There's a lot of posturing around this. Yes, it's bleak. Yes, it has the feel of a ponderous and thorough-going "gritty realism" piece, but the attempt doesn't make up for a going-nowhere script that and absolutely awful and confusing editing. Some of that was undoubtedly due to the shoestring budget and time constraints that come with that, but this is simply not the work of a talented or visionary director.
Nothing really works, is the problem. Except when Phoenix is just acting and noone is talking. I don't like his psychotic, nonverbal acting, but it's the only thing I felt was consistently well executed or compelling about the film.
The "flashback" shots look like they come from a completely different filmmaker and film. One of them looks quite nice.
The score from the lake scene was perfect, and well suited to the scene and film. The rest of the score was plain terrible. Like, the director watched her nephew play Hotline Miami, watched Drive, then decided to use a disused computer from 2006 with Fruity Loops installed to compose a track, bad. You could easily find better on SoundCloud.
There is a story to be told about suicidal people severely damaged by the horrors they've had to witness and endure, but this just isn't a good film. Also, Jesus Fucking Christ are we just going to have movies where all the main characters are nearly completely incomprehensible with their mumble acting for the duration of the film?
Review by DeletedBlockedParent2017-11-17T03:28:48Z
LIFF31 2017 #5
"Joe, wake up. It's a beautiful day".
"You Were Never Really Here" is a cold and brutal revenge story that isn't for everybody. Wasn't a slow burn or the usual art house film you'd expect. The story is straight forward; we see a suicidal, possibly sexual abused veteran trying to rescue a missing girl from sex slavery, but it's presentation is different. After it was over, I struggle to collect my thoughts and needed to take time to suck all the details.
But the more I think about it, the more I like and appreciate it. Themes play a big part, instead of plot. Leaving you to fill in the gapes. This might be frustrating for some people.
Joaquin Phoenix was amazing, as usual. The way he portrays a soft and rough person with a long history of violence told through his eyes. Phoenix was extraordinary to watch. You can feel the sweat, blood, and tears come off the screen in a couple of scenes.
Lynne Ramsay manges to build up this atmosphere and anxiety through her excellent directing. Even the on/off-screen violence made the film's energy of brutality so uncombable. Mixed with Jonny Greenwood's vicious and tense soundtrack. Of course the trashy and beautiful cinematography, only adds to the dream-like feel of it.
Issues I had with the film (which are small) is how too simply the storyline is or the flashback scenes could have been executed a little better. That's really it, to be honest.
Overall rating: Interesting look on the new "Taxi Driver".