Review of Killer Joe (2012) by Jian G — 13 May 2016

Gritty, intriguing, dark, funny crime-drama.

Chris Smith (played by Emile Hirsch) is in a bind. He owes a loan-shark a fair bit of money, and the man has threatened to kill him if he does not produce the money within a few days. He does not have the money. He strikes upon a get-rich-quick plan: have his estranged mother killed and collect on the insurance money. He involves his father, Ansel (Thomas Haden Church), who buys into the deal for a share of the profit (him and Chris' mother are divorced and don't see eye-to-eye, so it wasn't a tough sell). Ansel then involves his 2nd wife, Sharla (Gina Gershon) and, due to her finding out about the plan, his daughter, Chris' sister, Dottie (Juno Temple). They hire a professional killer (who happens to also be a cop), "Killer Joe" Cooper (Matthew McConaughey). When they cannot pay him upfront, they reach an unusual deal on how to retain his services. This complicates matters, a lot.

An engaging and funny yet simultaneously dark and graphic drama. Clever plot - quite solid with some great twists, double-crosses and triple-crosses. Good sub-plots and some wonderfully quirky dialogue. Tarantinoesque at times. In fact the whole movie has a Tarantino-like vibe, but not quite with the same polish and attention-to-detail that a Tarantino movie has.

Ending is a bit unsatisfactory, and does negate some of the good that went before. It was heading for an even higher rating...

Great performances all round. Matthew McConaughey is wonderfully cool and aloof, yet damaged, as Killer Joe. He reminded me of his performance in True Detective Season 1. Emile Hirsch, Thomas Haden Church, Juno Temple and Gino Gershon are well cast and don't put a foot wrong. Pick of the these is Juno Temple, who mixes innocence and beauty and creates a wonderful sense of mystery and ambiguity about her character.

An understated, underrated gem.