Review of Joe (2014) by Bigz — 06 Oct 2014

Nicolas Cage on point once again. I found this movie particularly for the reason that he was the main character. I had no idea what to expect, but the trailers showed promise. I was not disappointed. The angle was more on the drama side than action.

I was especially impressed with the portrayal of the young teen Gary. There was a razor sharp emotional grip this film had. Seeing Gary's father and family situation seems disturbingly real as though it was live footage of real people as opposed to dramatic actors.

Cage helps us step into Joe's life and the conflict within him to lash out at the world and lose control of his anger. Of course it did get pretty extreme and violent. Kind of leaves you thinking, why are so many of these people in this town so messed up? Also begs the question of just how many teens suffer from the same type of thing.

..probably a lot more than people bother to admit. Low scale and on the slower side. Definitely strong acting though. You get to play around with the thought of whether Joe is really more of a criminal than a good man.

I think the end is a sour way to wrap up that enigma but understandable. Worth a watch.