Phoenix rises in return to form
Glaswegian director Lynne Ramsay is no stranger to powerful, thoughtprovoking cinema.
Stunning debut Ratcatcher was followed by Morvern Callar and We Need to Talk About Kevin and for her fourth big screen outing, the 48-year-old continues to show a keen eye for challenging content.
For the third film in a row, Ramsay adapts a novel; this time Jonathan Ames’ same-titled 2013 best-seller.
Joaquin Phoenix stars as traumatised veteran Joe who tracks down missing girls for a living, with his latest job involving senator’s daughter Nina (Ekaterina Samsonov) plunging him into a conspiracy nightmare.
Whereas Hollywood hits like The Equalizer, Man on Fire and even Taken tackled similar ground with little tact and a propensity for extreme violence, Ramsay takes a more measured approach and despite coming in short of 90 minutes, You Were Never Really Here unfolds at a sedate pace.
That’s not to say her stripped-back delivery doesn’t entertain; far from it as barely any screen time is wasted.
The film would live or die by Phoenix’s performance, though, and it’s nice to see the Puerto Rico-born star back on form following that crazy post-2010 period where he convinced the world he’d gone insane for dire dramedy I’m Still Here and overplayed the creepy in The Master.
Phoenix has always been at his best playing morally ambiguous, perturbed characters and this nuanced, internal-driven display is his finest since he nailed Johnny Cash in 2005’s Walk the Line.
Any doubts about his ability to match up to Liam Neeson, Denzel Washington and Co’s physicality are quickly superseded as his bulked-up frame batters, bruises and breaks a collection of thugs out to put an end to him and Nina.
But forget cheesy scenes set atop trains or people walking away from car crashes scratchfree while spouting trailer-friendly one-liners, Ramsay has more subtle, clever ways of framing her action.
Not many directors would use grainy security camera footage for one of their movie’s biggest showdowns, but it’s clever decisions like that which set Ramsay apart.
Joe also suffers from visions of his past that enables Ramsay to combine lighting, sound design and clever camera work to superb effect.
It’s very weighty, troubling stuff that will test your ability to handle drama at its darkest and you do occasionally pine for a small break from the intensity.
However, this is a story – and a life – that would feel totally off-kilter and unrealistic coated with random injections of forced humour or cutesy character interactions.
A revenge thriller unlike any other, You Were Never Really Here is another triumph from Ramsay and a welcome return to the big time for a focused Phoenix.