It’s the rare film that, after the overwhelming first viewing experience, doesn’t feel like hyperbole to call a genre redefining masterpiece – and despite the film being so bleak and brutal by design, I can’t wait to immerse myself in it once again. Praise for You Were Never Really Here “Brutal, unrelenting, and utterly compelling. If it sounds like You Were Never Really Here is a depressing film, you’re right, but Lynne Ramsay never seems to be wallowing. It feels every bit as bold as Taxi Driver (with which this shares various surface level narrative similarities) did upon its debut over 40 years ago. Joaquin Phoenix stars. Jonny Greenwood - The Hunt - Duration: 3:24. You Were Never Really Here will released in the US on February 23, 2018, and in the UK on March 9, 2018. Spoilers for You Were Never Really Here follow.. Joe is a troubled man. 2021 Oscar Animated Shorts: Animated Passion Comes To Life, MONKEY BARS: A Sidling, Unsettling Step Away From Girlhood, Drunken Film Fest Bradford 2020: Six Winning Shorts, International Film Festival Rotterdam 2021: Interview With Director/Writer Karen Cinorre Of MAYDAY, International Film Festival Rotterdam 2021: Interview With Director/Writer Dea Kulumbegashvili Of BEGINNING, The Mistress of Suspense Strikes Again! He has been writing about film since the start of 2014, and in addition to Film Inquiry, regularly contributes to Gay Essential and The Digital Fix, with additional bylines in Film Stories, the BFI and Vague Visages. It’s a familiar story, told in a way that feels nothing less than revolutionary. It’s hard to go back to the accepted form of crime storytelling after conventions have been so boldly pulled apart and dissected here. Edit. 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Find professional You Were Never Really Here videos and stock footage available for license in film, television, advertising and corporate uses. Sign up to get our cinematic goodness delivered to your inbox every weekend. | Expect a character study of such brutality, the protagonist frequently uses suffocation as a means of relaxation, and his surrealist suicidal fantasias end up becoming the most peaceful moments in an otherwise relentless abstract subversion of thriller conventions. And it is enough. She has delivered a thorough character study, stripped almost entirely of expository dialogue, using only precise visuals to help make a fully fleshed out narrative feel compact. There are very few cast members in Ramsay’s film, meaning the entire project rests on Phoenix’s bulky shoulders. WatchMojo: Another Top 10 Joaquin Phoenix Performances (2019) (TV Episode) Joe is #2. Phoenix has a reputation for performances that seem larger than the film they are contained in. For all international release dates, see here. You Were Never Really Here is conclusive proof that a great director can elevate familiar source material. You Were Never Really Here starring Joaquin Phoenix, Judith Roberts and Ekaterina Samsonov directed by John Doman is reviewed by What The Flick?! . The most surprising use of Ramsay’s sparse storytelling method comes near the conclusion of You Were Never Really Here. Brutal and redemptive in equal measure, You Were Never Really Here is a toxic shot of a thriller, laced with corruption, revenge and the darkest of … Early on, we see him at the conclusion of a mission in Cincinnati: cleaning up, removing the evidence, then heading home to Queens, where he lives with his frail mother (played by Judith Roberts). She tells him they should go, it’s a beautiful day, and he agrees. 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The soundscape gets increasingly experimental as the film nears its climax, turning from precise arrangements in to Brian Eno-style ambience, playing out over numerous conversations unfolding simultaneously in the background. Lynne Ramsay directs. Select Page. I know Joe's an unreliable narrator but I'm sure he's come to the right conclusion here: Votto and the Governor were both Nina's customers and she was both their 'favourites'. In You Were Never Really Here, the fourth feature from Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay, Joaquin Phoenix is Joe, a hired gun who specialises in liberating girls from sex trafficking rings. You’ve definitely heard the story before; violent hitman is sent to rescue the daughter of a senator, who has been taken captive by child sex traffickers, all while he is struggling to conceal the demons of his own tormented childhood. 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