Review of You Were Never Really Here (2017) by Jodi C — 07 Jan 2019

These two stars were for Joaquin Phoenix and nothing else. This movie tries so hard to be an art piece that it lost the narrative very quickly. The book dives into Joe's past a great deal more and closing that loop would have been nice.

There is an explanation about why joe does things the way he dies that are explained only by his past and there should have been more focus on that. The flashbacks kept building and then it's up to the audience to guess how they end.

Pheonix's portrayal of joe was wonderful but that isn't enough to save this one. There are a lot of loose ends that never get tied up and several long slow periods that feel like an unnecessary wait until the next pop of gore and violence.

When we finally arrive at the next check point its disappointing. For me this one struggles to be daring and edgy but, feels more like the first year film student trying to stand out with rudimentary tools being the aweful eighties soundtrack that is annoyingly distracting and the violence that was both unnecessary and exaggerated.

90 minutes felt like 120. I found myself asking is this a thriller or a character story. In no way is it both, it falls very short of being even half of one or the other.