Killer Joe
Directed By:
William Friedkin
Written By: Tracy
Letts, based on his own play.
Starring: Matthew
McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church, and Gina Gershon.
Director of Photography: Caleb Deschanel, Editor: Darrin
Navarro, Production Designer: Franco-Giacomo Carbone, Original Music: Tyler
Bates
William
Friedkin doesn’t pull any punches with his Southern gothic drama Killer Joe about the low-lifes of the
world. It takes only three minutes for him to shove a woman’s under-parts right
in Emilie Hirsch’s (and our) face. Well that’s why this film comes with an
NC-17 rating, I thought, though justifications will continue throughout. But Friedkin,
who has never shied away from explicit and horrific images (The Exorcist, Cruising), and doesn’t just do it for indulgence. Killer Joe is set among indulgent
people, with little care or self-worth. And they must be punished, and Friedkin
has just the man to do it.
Working
once again with playwright Tracy Letts (the two last collaborated on Bug), Friedkin brings a purported
intensity to a stage play with Killer Joe,
this one anchored by a truly manic and truly brilliant performance by Matthew
McConaughey. The actor has of course been on a run with a string of oddball yet
highly unique performances in films like Bernie
and Magic Mike, but Killer Joe takes the cake for the
actor’s sheer magnetism and silence. He’s introduced in the film like a
Tarantino character—we see the gloves, the shades, the gun, and the cowboy hat.
Back when it was originally staged in Chicago, Michael Shannon donned the role.
Shannon’s a terrific actor, but he’s also known for his big ferocity. What
makes McConaughey so thrilling is his utter silence. He doesn’t let words run
through his mouth without valuing every syllable.
