Review of Killer Joe (2012) by Paul P — 01 Jan 2013

This is a film filled to the brim with reprehensible characters and situations, I felt like I needed a shower afterwards. This is actually a good thing as it means that Freidkin and his cast have delivered on the film's premise.

The story itself is relaitvely simple and the twists and turns in the film are pretty easy to see. Why this film works so well is that the casting is pretty much perfect. Hirsch, Haden Church and Gershon represent the family from hell with Temple playing the younger sister / victim in what plays out. All of thee guys are on terrific form, Temple in particular is exceptional.

Things step up a gear when McConaughey enters the story as Killer Joe. I have always liked this guy as an actor, I just feel that he made one too many flicks with Kate Hudson and his choices until recently have not been all that great. This however is a real return to form for him. From the moment he is on screen, there is an empiness / coldness in his eyes where it becomes very clear tha he is in charge and is 10 steps ahead of everone else. He is truly excellent in this flick and I hope that he continues to take on roles like this as he is clearly up for the challenge.

Overall, the material is incredibly dark and the finale of this story enters into depravity (it is pretty unpleasent to watch). It is also a gripping film that is anchored by a game cast and Freidkin's simple direction.