The MN Movie Man

Follow me on Twitter: @joemnmovieman & Instagram: @themnmovieman

Main menu

Skip to content
  • Home
  • About this Blog
  • Movies I’ve Seen
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2012
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2013
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2014
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2015
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2016
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2017
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2018
    • Movies I’ve Seen – 2019
  • Awards Season
    • 2012
      • The Golden Globes – 1/15/12
      • The Academy Awards – 2/26/12
    • 2013
      • The Golden Globes – 1/13/13
      • SAG Awards – 1/27/13
      • Spirit Awards – 2/23/13
      • Academy Awards – 2/24/13
    • 2014
      • Golden Globes ~ 1/12/14
      • SAG Awards ~ 1/18/14
      • Spirit Awards ~ 3/1/14
      • Academy Awards – 3/2/14
    • 2015
      • Golden Globes ~ 1/11/15
      • SAG Awards ~ 1/25/15
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards ~ 2/21/15
      • Academy Awards ~ 2/22/15
    • 2016
      • Golden Globes – 1/10/2016
      • SAG Awards – 1/30/2016
      • Spirit Awards – 2/27/2016
      • Academy Awards – 2/28/2016
    • 2017
      • Golden Globes – 1/8/2017
      • SAG Awards – 1/29/2017
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 2/25/2017
      • Academy Awards – 2/26/2017
    • 2018
      • Golden Globes – 1/7/2018
      • SAG Awards – 1/21/2018
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 3/3/2018
      • Academy Awards – 3/4/2018
    • 2019
      • Golden Globes – 1/6/2019
      • SAG Awards – 1/27/2019
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 2/23/2019
      • Academy Awards – 2/24/2019
    • 2020
      • Golden Globes – 1/5/2020
      • SAG Awards – 1/19/2020
      • Film Independent Spirit Awards – 2/8/2020
      • Academy Awards – 2/9/2020
  • Special Series
    • 31 Days to Scare – October 2012
    • 31 Days to Scare – October 2016
    • Bond-ed For Life – November 2012

Tag Archives: NC-17

August 22, 2012

Movie Review ~ Killer Joe

2
by Joe Movie Review • Tags: Emile Hirsch, Gina Gershon, Juno Temple, Killer Joe, logo, Matthew McConaughey, NC-17, Studio, Thomas Haden Church, Tracy Letts, William Friedkin

The Facts:

Synopsis: When a debt puts a young man’s life in danger, he turns to putting a hit out on his evil mother in order to collect the insurance.

Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church, Gina Gershon

Director: William Friedkin

Rated: NC-17

Running Length: 103 minutes

Trailer Review: Here

TMMM Score (5.5/10):

Review:  In the 1970’s director Friedkin turned our stomachs with his now-classic The Exorcist as he charted the demonic possession of a young girl and the effects it had on the people around her.  Shocking at the time, The Exorcist succeeds because it tapped into some pretty deep fears that existed in relation to religion and evil.  Friedkin’s latest effort, Killer Joe, also turns stomachs in a totally different way.  With its icky characters and even ickier situations they find themselves in, it’s the blackest of black comedies that should be approached with caution.

After collaborating on 2006’s Bug, Friedkin and screenwriter Tracy Letts join forces again to bring another of Letts high-stakes plays to the big screen.  Bug ended up falling apart because it was limited in its playing space but Letts has allowed the Killer Joe characters to roam a bit more.  Still, it can’t get away from feeling stage-bound.  Too often the set-ups and situations seem better suited for a live performance rather than a screen drama.

To his credit, Letts didn’t change much from stage to screen and maybe it’s because he’s well versed in screenwriting that the stage play was crafted with a big screen future.  The decidedly dark dialogue gives way to some uneasy laughter and fairly soon the audience finds itself laughing at some pretty incredible revelations and proclamations.  Though set it Texas, it has a very bayou feel as the characters all seem like they’ve emerged from a swap to tell their tale.

Friedkin has gathered together some interesting actors for this difficult work and the result is a mish-mash of styles that didn’t work for me.  When one character would be playing a scene for comedy, another would be playing it for drama which created an imbalance.  Perhaps that was the intent of the filmmakers but to me it seemed like Friedkin let everyone do what they wanted. 

The worst style offender is Hirsch who provides one of the more overdrawn and reckless performances of 2012.  He’s followed by Haden Church who never seems awake enough to get through the dialogue correctly.  Both actors favor yelling their lines for no apparent reason and turning the melodrama meter all the way up whenever they feel like it.  I can see where this angle would work with Haden Church’s dimbulb father figure but with Hirsch it just reads as bad acting.

The women fare better than the men in the film and credit Letts with creating two unfamiliar archetypes that easily transition to the screen.  Temple is an actress slowly getting buzz in Hollywood (please check out the excellent Cracks for more on her) and after showing up briefly in The Dark Knight she takes center stage for a tough role as a girl that isn’t as simple as she seems.  Required to bare the most flesh, Temple makes it work by countering the nudity with a fully drawn character.

Any actress that could be called (correctly) the best thing about Showgirls has to know what she’s getting herself into and Gershon again throws herself headfirst into her role.   Her entrance alone is something very few Hollywood actresses would agree to.  Furthermore, she bravely tackles (as we endure) a scene near the end which rightly earned this film a NC-17 rating – vile as it is.  Bravo to her.

That brings us to Killer Joe himself and McConaughey mostly hits his mark as the frightening assassin hired by this family of trailer park nitwits.  I’d say that McConaughey has been more effective in 2012 with Magic Mike and Bernie but even if he is sitting back on his heels for most of the film he brings to life a dangerous character with the best of intentions.

The NC-17 rating should clue you in that this is truly a film that isn’t for everyone.  While it is strangely entertaining, the entire film felt like an endurance test of wills to see how much violence and debauchery we can take.  In a film where plenty of blood is spilled and copious amounts of flesh is shown, I found myself longing for the days of little girls possessed by demons spitting up pea soup.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Post navigation

Display Sidebar

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 7,106 other followers

Like me on Facebook!

Like me on Facebook!

Recent Posts

  • Movie Review ~ Jumanji: The Next Level
  • Movie Review ~ Black Christmas (2019)
  • Movie Review ~ Richard Jewell
  • Movie Review ~ Knives and Skin
  • The Silver Bullet ~ In the Heights

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Categories

  • 31 Days to Scare
  • Bond-ed For Life
  • Down from the Shelf
  • Mid-Day Mini
  • Movie Review
  • New To Blu
  • Note
  • Poll
  • Silver Bullet – Trailer Park
  • Uncategorized
  • Why Haven't You Seen This Movie?

Blogroll

  • Alamo Drafthouse – Twin Cities
  • Blu-Ray.com
  • Brian Orndorf
  • Joe's Instagram Page
  • Joe's Twitter Page
  • The LAMB (Large Association of Movie Blogs)

Archives

  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012

The MN Movie Man – Pick a Date

December 2019
S M T W T F S
« Nov    
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  

Recent Comments

The Large Associatio… on Movie Review ~ A Beautiful Day…
Joe on Movie Review ~ Marriage S…
Bruce Colglazier Pap… on The Silver Bullet ~ Wonder Wom…
Frozen II: A Worthy… on Movie Review ~ Frozen II
The Large Associatio… on Movie Review ~ Terminator: Dar…

Copyright © 2015 Joe The MN Movie Man. All Rights Reserved.

The MN Movie Man
Cancel
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
%d bloggers like this: