Killer Joe (2011)

"If you insult me again, 
I will cut your face off and wear it over my own. Do you understand?"

When Chris Smith runs into some debt with a local gangster, he turns to hiring Killer Joe Cooper to murder his evil mother in order to collect the insurance.

Trust me... You've never seen Matthew McConaughey like this before.

Written by Tracy Letts (based on his play) and directed by William Friedkin who directed ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘Bug’ comes ‘Killer Joe’, a film that is shocking, dark, funny and oh so twisted. It had a quiet opening at the box office in 2011 and, since I was a fan of the director, I went to see it despite not knowing much about it. Let's just say I was not prepared for what I was going to see...

What should be said about ‘Killer Joe’ from the get-go is that it isn’t as straight forward and conventional as the plot suggests.

The film has an uncomfortable sense of dread throughout that makes us squirm as we try and piece together where it’s going and how it’s going to get there. The tension is gradually increased and the audience can feel it. The plot thickens and we learn more information about characters that eventually culminates in a grand finale that will leave you clinging on for dear life (and quite possibly clinging to a sick bag). 

This being said, despite the building dread that is ever-present in the film, there is a dark humour scattered here and there that had me laughing in scenes that you really shouldn’t be laughing at. It’s a black comedy that is so dark that it’s quite possible that you could miss the humour. I always find it interesting when a film can make me feel ashamed for laughing at a scene that just shouldn’t be funny.

Matthew McConaughey steals the show as Killer Joe Cooper and ever since seeing this film, my respect for him as an actor has grown tenfold. We now have films such as ’The Dallas Buyers Club’ and ‘Mud’ that really showcase him as an actor but I feel that ‘Killer Joe’ was the first time I saw him have the freedom to really act and probably have a lot of fun with the character. 

Joe Cooper is a twisted human being with a professional approach to what he does - he kills people. He balances the polite texan police detective with the psychopathic hit man perfectly. It was surprising seeing McConaughey play so against type after seeing him play the love interest and "home grown Texan hunk" in so many middle of the road movies. I only ever got a glimmer of how good he could be in ‘A Time To Kill’ where he plays a lawyer defending a man who takes the law into his own hands by murdering the boys who raped his daughter. 

In ‘Killer Joe’ this reputation is shattered in the most enjoyable of ways as we see some seriously twisted stuff going down. I dare you to watch ‘Killer Joe’ and look at him in the same way again.

It’s easy to forget about the supporting cast with a performance like Matthew McConaughey’s but they are flawless.

Thomas Haden Church and Emile Hirsch deliver very comedic and believable performances as the slightly dumb father and son duo who hire Killer Joe.

Juno Temple is also a key player in the story as the naive and damaged Dottie, Chris’ sweet little sister who eventually turns out to be a “retainer" for Killer Joe when Chris and Ansel don’t have the money up front to pay him for his service. I’ve seen her in a lot of films playing small roles but I think her performance in ‘Killer Joe' is testament to her talent as an up and coming actress who will hopefully go far.

The film is based on a play and although you can understand why with the limited locations and small cast, it doesn’t hinder the film at all. The dialogue is interesting and you get a lot of detail in the characters. I would go and see the play in a heartbeat after how fantastic the film was. 

Controversy quickly circulated about ‘Killer Joe’ and it’s easy to see why. "Rated R for strong and disturbing violence, sexuality, graphic nudity, drug use and language”. There are several key scenes in ‘Killer Joe’ that will forever be etched into my mind. Most notably is the finale, without giving away any spoilers, you won’t look at KFC again without remembering one of the climatic moments of the film… 

William Friedkin isn’t afraid to give us scenes that will shock us and I always feel that they aren’t there just to shock us. They deliver strong messages and challenge us as we delve into the depths of the darkest characters and themes. This seems to be the main criticism of the film as there were apparently a lot of walk outs in the cinema but I can understand why. It’s not that the film is overly violent, it has it’s violent scenes but it’s not the violence that shocked audiences. I think it’s the more sexual aspects of the film that are shocking to most.

It’s not for everyone.

To categorise Killer Joe in any genre would definitely be a disservice to the film. It is funny, terrifying, tense, shocking, thrilling, atmospheric and even somewhat romantic in a twisted way? The list goes on and on. 

All you can do is keep an open mind for this one and if you can do that I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. The dramatic and shocking conclusion will leave you howling with laughter and then wondering why you did...