Killer Joe (2012)

If topiary ain’t your thing, look away now.

Fuzzy shrubs, trimmed or otherwise, are hard to miss in this rather lady-garden obsessed film; in fact I would go so far to say there was more bush in this movie than the White House. Circa 2001, that is. And yes, excuse my squeamishness, but some of it might have been somewhat gratuitous.

Ok. So, extreme confronting nudity aside, I have to admit, this film became quite the unexpected guilty pleasure.

I mean, there really is something about this film I feel I should dislike – the bone-crunching, blood-filled violence, the twisted psychotic women (whose motivation for psychosis seem to basically be, that they are women) and a big bunch of hormonal posturing from each of the men. And Texan accents, too – they normally drive me nuts.

But, still. I really liked it. Emile Hirshe proved to be a wonderfully wheeling, dealing bogan, with the anti-midas curse, turning everything he touches into deep deep do-do – one of life’s charming and cute, but hopeless, losers. And as much as you can foresee his spiral of destruction, your heart totally goes out to him.

Like-wise Thomas Hayden Church, as his father, brings home the bacon in a refreshing paternal portrayal, and Juno Temple’s turn, as his sister Dottie, is dottier than a Damien Hirst retrospective. Basically, an awesome, killer cast.


Which, I guess, leads us to Matthew McConaughey. Good old Killer Joe himself. A bunch of reviews claim it’s the performance of his career, reminding me heaps of Woody Harrelson’s Rampart – what is it about bad-ass, extremely violent stoic characters that evokes a sense of awe from movie critics? Nice guys might win in life, but rarely in rave reviews. Still, watching his tightly coiled spring just waiting to explode is intensely gripping entertainment.

And, oddly, in spite of all the death, depression and disorder, the entire experience is mightily aesthetically pleasing entertainment. So much so, I might actually need to watch it again to get my head around what I liked so much about it. Praise indeed, no?

WHAT I’VE LEARNT

• I want to shoot in Texas. It proves to be such a fertile filmic ground, serving up stunning scenery, gorgeous light and a character all in itself. It’s hard to imagine an English location that could be so brutal and beautiful at the same time. I crush shooting in Texas.
• Don’t cross Matthew McConaughey. You won’t like him when he gets angry.

WHEN TO WATCH

• If you liked Drive, then you might just get a kick (in the head) from this.

WHEN NOT TO WATCH

• If you’re likely to be repulsed by a father deciding that giving his young daughter’s virginity to a hitman as part payment and stating “might just do her some good”, then this film is most definitely not for you.

POSTER QUOTE
“Brutal, bush-filled brilliance.”