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Killer Joe (2012) Dir. William Friedkin
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Juno Temple, Emile Hirsch
Killer Joe is one of the best things I've seen at the cinema this year. It's a trailer park noir thriller with threads of black comedy and a strong lashing of Southern Gothic in the vein of The Night of The Hunter. Mitchum's influence on McConaughey's mannerisms seems mentionable, but all of the other elements are there, too: creaking poverty, decay, the dysfunctional (and possibly incestuous) family unit, terrible violence. In the heart of Texas, the bottom line is cash for everyone involved, and it will be gained at any costs, be it through murder, extortion, or betrayal of one's nearest and dearest. A young drug-dealer played by Emile Hirsch gets into debt with some dangerous people, and hires a hitman, McConaughey's titular Killer Joe, to dispose of his mother and cash in on her life insurance policy. Juno Temple, as Hirsch's younger sister, maintains just the right blend of blushingly virginal sensuality and worryingly child-like vulnerability; she's the perfect target for Joe's decision to take on a 'retainer'; doll-like, strange and sweet, like a sparrow crushed in an iron grip. As Joe, McConaughey impressively plays against type with vehemence and flair; his honey-dripping Texan accent and polished, Southern gentleman's charm mask a cold and brutal nature. The film is deeply unsettling and unpleasant, from its mere implications to its gratuitous excesses, though not without a few darkly hilarious moments wedged in between. From its opening, when Gina Gershon opens the door to her stepson in a teeth-grittingly uncomfortable state of undress, to its positively ugly and abrupt ending, it sears with tension, sleaze, and noirish brilliance.
