Review of You Were Never Really Here (2017) by Garry A — 07 Apr 2018

Based on the Jonathan Ames' novella, Lynne Ramsay's 'You Were Never Really Here' is a remarkable piece of work. Like her previous film 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' she has taken exposition-heavy source material, gutted pretty much all the dialogue, yet produced a remarkably accomplished piece of work, that tells it's story through indirect viewer participation. It trusts it's audience to enjoy the ride without having every character motivation spelt out and explained.

Joaquin Phoenix is in career-best form here as Joe, a heavily bearded, and even more heavily set, ex-military burn-out, who earns a living dealing out punishment to people-traffickers, in particular those trading in under-aged girls. We learn all of this indirectly - his past is explained via split-second flashback sequences, documenting his time in the forces, as well as his early family life, but these sequences are not used as a trope, they tell the story by revealing his motivations and why he performs the tasks he does. There is almost no dialogue in the film at all (ironically it won 'best screenplay at Cannes) and so it relies on these sequences, and their impact on character actions, to tell the story.

Comparisons to Taxi Driver have been made, but this really has a different structure to that movie. There, DeNiro's character offers up a slow progression towards violence, whereas here Joe starts off completely unstable. It is why Phoenix's performance is so impressive - the acts he performs are almost as if a switch is flipped - he goes from 0-100 in an instant and then returns to relative normality - he lives at home with his ailing mother, and there is a wonderful sense of a loving relationship between the pair, which only emphasises the dual nature of Joe's personality.

What is impressive about Ramsay's direction from a visual standpoint, is she filters these acts of violence to a degree, that it almost nullifies their gratuitous nature. Joe's weapon of choice is a ball-pen hammer (the selection of which, again, is explained via the briefest flashes of flashback) yet she turns her camera away when he comes to using it, or employs grainy CCTV to follow the action. It is what gives the viewer conflicting reactions to Joe's behaviour - it is not a typical revenge thriller in that regard. There is a touching scene where Joe holds the hand of one of his victims as he dies, and sings a final song with him - it is a moment of humanity amongst utter chaos, and again it only emphasises the turmoil of his personality.

Special mention too for the soundtrack - the score by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood is insanely good. Similar to last year's 'Good Time' it really is an assault on the senses, with throbbing synths and clanging distortion providing a disconcerting accompaniment. The editing too is on point, chiseling the final cut of the film down to the perfect 90 minutes run time. Certainly one of my favourite movies of the year thus far. Lynne Ramsay has a reputation for being difficult to work with, and uncompromising on set, but she is unquestionably one of our finest directors working today.