Review of Joe (2014) by Liam C — 26 Apr 2014

Even after a few days watching this I am still processing it. It feels like a movie made by David Lynch, it's a very simple sort of story but everything is told in such a precise and awkward way it just makes you think about it more.

Maybe I'm over analysing it all but it's definitely not a movie you just sit down with one night and enjoy. I'm not even sure what I can write about in this review, it's very hard to even think about anything to write.

Something that doesn't require much thought is the acting and oh my was it good. Nicolas Cage was fantastic! Just like everyone has already said, he knocks it out of the park and he totally embodies Joe and everything about him, it's his best performance since the also critically acclaimed Bad Lieutenant which features a very different kind of performance.

Everyone else did fine jobs too, most of the cast, besides the two leads, were just regular people and not actors and they all did well especially the drunk dad. I know the movie is based on a book but very little seemed to happen, after about 30 minutes something happens to Joe and that's where I thought the movie would pick up but it really didn't and nothing really happened until the western-esqe finale, which is a good one because like the rest of the movie it is realistic and fits with the tone.

I can't imagine reading this book, just the fact that everything seemed visual instead of having to be explained all the time, a character would just look instead of actually saying something and that's always a great quality of film, a scene with a blonde haired woman comes to mind.

There never seemed to be much tension either some scenes would start up with tension or lead to a climax and then just trail off into the next scene. It sounds like I didn't like the movie and that's wrong, I did enjoy it in the way it was meant to be enjoyed, I sat there, absorbed it all and thought about it; I was never bored but it's just I have so many conflicting thoughts and still trying to work out if I liked it or not.

On the one hand nothing much happened but on the other it's all the tiny little nuances they gave to scenes, sure, not much might happen but all the little things add up in the end and anything involved with a police car and Joe is pure gold.

It's a good movie, don't get me wrong but it is certainly not going to have mass appeal, it's made for the people who'd appreciate it, like Prince Avalanche, and that's it. I'm gonna buy it when it comes out on DVD anyway, so I'll definitely get another chance to experience it, maybe it'll all become clear the second time.