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Saturday, April 21, 2018

You Were Never Really Here (2018)

An ex-soldier and former law enforcement officer (Joaquin Phoenix) suffers from what appears to be a form of post traumatic syndrome going back to his childhood (abusive) and on through his years as both a soldier and law enforcement officer. He now works as sort of a vigilante for hire and his latest assignment is to rescue an underage girl (Ekaterina Samsonov) from sex trafficking. But what should have been a routine job for him turns into a living hell. Based on the novel by Jonathan Ames and directed by Lynne Ramsay (WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN). This is a stunning film! Similarities to TAXI DRIVER aside, this is a deeply disturbing film anchored by a brilliant and intense performance by Joaquin Phoenix, who won the Cannes film festival best actor award for his work here while Ramsay won for her screenplay. While it's a violent film, Ramsay doesn't exploit or dwell on the violence, indeed what we often see is the aftermath of the violence rather than the violence itself. But there are moments of beauty too such as the water burial of Judith Roberts as Phoenix's mother. Highly recommended and hopefully Phoenix's performance will be remembered at awards season at the end of the year. And there's the bonus of another great Jonny Greenwood score. With Alessandro Nivola, Alex Manette and John Doman.   

2 comments:

  1. Have added to my watch list.
    I check out your reviews every week. Just to let you know, I post on http://imdb2.freeforums.net/ where several of the members from the old site post.
    A thread several months ago had your name come up as a poster we miss and if you wish you would be most welcome to post on the new board.
    There is a "classics" board which has continued the old "What did you watch this week?" thread. Check it out to see if you're interested.
    Best wishes.

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    1. Thanks for the invite. But I'm still in touch with many of the "old gang" at a different site, most of who had already abandoned the CFB long before it began to implode. Will definitely peek in at the new site though.

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