Thread: Killer Joe?

Any body gone yet? Is it as disturbingly brilliant as some are saying?

Finally saw it tonight.

On the way to the theater I realized that I had seen the stage play upon which it is based when it was performed in San Francisco in 2006. That said, I didn't recall much of the play so the story wasn't terribly familiar.

I see why it got an NC-17, but honestly they didn't need to push it that far.

I found some of the characters to be a bit over-the-top, as if the actors were performing a stage play rather than a film (you need to be a little more expressive on stage; in contrast you need to be a little more subtle when transferring said roles to film).

Matthew McConaughey kills throughout and literally saves the film. Ditto for Juno Temple. Emile Hersch was completely miscast and is a tad too earnest (and good looking) for the role he was put in. Thomas Hayden Church and Gina Gershon are hit and miss (they mostly miss during the first 2/3 but come correct in the final act).

The balance of dark comedy and violence never quite gels and feels a bit forced at times, but again Matthew McConaughey holds it all together. I could see him getting some award nominations (Golden Globe/Oscar) easily.

I would say that McConaughey is disturbingly brilliant but the film as a whole is not.

FWIW, this is the second collaboration between director William (The Exorcist/French Connection/To Live and Die in LA) Friedkin and playwright Tracy Letts (they previously collaborated on the intense and tripped-out Bug which starred Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon).

Excellent review - thanks Dooks; think I'll wait for the little screen release.