Joe [DVD + Digital]

Nicolas Cage’s name has been a real deterrent for me when it comes to movies over the past few years. I honestly actively avoid anything with his name attached. I can’t honestly say that, until ‘The Croods’ last year, I had not seen a Nicolas Cage film since ‘World Trade Center’ in 2006. In looking over his filmography, it looks like I didn’t miss much at all. Now, when ‘Joe’ was announced I was intrigued because of two things. First, David Gordon Green, while not a director I adore, has a pretty interesting filmography. He has a unique style of direction, earthy and honest, and he likes to build on very human themes. Second, and possibly more intriguing, was that it was staring (or co-staring) young Tye Sheridan. Now I had just seen ‘Mud’, where Sheridan completely stole the show and cemented himself as one to watch. I couldn’t wait to see him sink his teeth into something else.But then there was Cage’s name at the top of the poster, and I hesitated.I’m glad that the hesitation was brief, because while ‘Joe’ is not a perfect film, it is a very good one and offers Cage’s best performance since he won an Oscar, and one that completely strips him of every hammy, overbearing tick he has created as an actor and forces him to live outside of his persona and create something very intimate, very controlled and human.But the film still belongs to Tye Sheridan.‘Joe’, much like ‘Mud’, gives us a glimpse at life in the poor, destitute south. It also introduces us to families with real internal problems and lonesome men carrying baggage. In fact, ‘Joe’ feels an awful lot like ‘Mud’, just a little less focused. While the film itself is anchored by the two leads, the film’s splintered supporting characters either lack depth needed to make them feel important, or they tack on some clichéd depth that makes them feel unauthentic.‘Joe’ tells us the story of two troubled individuals. First, you have Joe. Nearing 50, Joe has spent a decent amount of time behind bars and is forced to keep his head low and walk the other way for fear his drinking and his temper will get the better of him once again. Gary also has to learn to keep his head low, for fear that his alcoholic father won’t beat him for raising it. Gary, intent on taking care of his mother and sister, who have been neglected and abused by his wandering drunk of a father, takes up a job working for Joe. Joe takes a liking to Gary and finds himself invested in him and his life and working towards breaking him away from his father and helping him built his own stability. Sadly, the people in both of their lives (or the people that loiter around it) are intent on breaking both of them down.For me, there are a few things that don’t work about ‘Joe’. First, Joe’s own relationship with the law feels a tad redundant and not fully fleshed out. He’s harassed by cops from time to time, and those scenes in particular feel unnecessary and distracting. Joe’s backstory needed a little more time too. We get fleeting mentions of his past, including children and grandchildren, but they are mentioned and then forgotten, and while this could be the point, it almost felt like an unnecessary diversion. My biggest issue though comes in the form of the film’s obligatory villain, Willie-Russell. We don’t see it, but apparently he got into it with Joe and so he hates him. Then he gets into it with Gary (we see that altercation) and so he hates him too. While this vendetta may work for the film’s finale (although it wasn’t entirely necessary) it is the character himself that doesn’t quite work. He just feels corny and ridiculous (especially his whole “I went through a windshield” line that he utters a few times). He’s just a dumb villain and with Gary’s father being the film’s chief antagonist, and a very successful one, I just can’t see why Willie-Russell wasn’t cut from the script.Other than this though, I really liked this one a lot. The final few scenes brought this repulsive thrill factor (my stomach was on the floor) that brought the film somewhere instead of leaving it as an antii-climactic character study. But really, it is the performances by Cage and Sheridan that anchor this film. Gary Poulter (who was actually a real homeless man found by Green and offered the role) is also exceptional here. He’s truly convincing, to the point where I have a feeling he was pretty much playing an exaggerated version of himself. It’s a shame he died shortly after filming.Cage, more reserved and internal than I’ve EVER seen him, is soulful and honest here, filling in the blanks left by the script and making Joe feel real from head to toe. His mannerisms are all expressive and yet never overwrought. He even handles his bigger, louder scenes with this depth I haven’t seen from him in years. But, this is Sheridan’s place to shine, and he does so with so much promise that I’m spellbound. He anchors this movie with such realism. He lives and breathes this character. The childish traits help establish an honest age that is prematurely aged by circumstance. You believe every outburst, every solemn retraction, every earnest plea. You can feel his trembling, his brooding, his observing and you can see every ounce of ‘performance’ leave him while he soaks in the atmosphere created by his character.He’s one to watch, for sure!So, I can say that despite my few reservations, I highly recommend ‘Joe’. It does feel like a copycat of sorts to ‘Mud’, carrying very similar themes and characters and atmosphere, and ‘Mud’ was better thought out overall, but ‘Joe’ does have its own personality that deserves your attention.

Joe (2013): 8 out of 10: I can imagine the following conversation on a Saturday night.What the hell was that Leroy?I am so sorry honey.I said I wanted to relax with a fun movie not cry and feel awful.I am so sorry honey.I mean if I wanted to see poverty and misery I’d visit my damn sister.I am so sorry honey.All you had to do was go to the Redbox and get a mindless action film. How hard is that?I am so sorry honey. I thought this was a mindless action film we could laugh at.What made you think that Leroy. What made you think that?It said Nicholas Cage right there on the cover.There are more than a couple of Nicholas Cage fans who will pick this up on a lark and wonder what the hell have they gotten themselves into. Add on the fact the movie was directed by David Gordon Green who directed such films as Pineapple Express and Your Highness and the confusion may be complete.But Cage and Green have a secret. A long time ago before a horrible Gypsy curse caused their respective careers to become laughing stocks they used to make good movies, very good movies. Joe is one of those movies.It is a simple, quiet, slow tale with a long-simmering burn underneath. Nicholas Cage plays an ex-con who runs a day labor crew that is poisoning trees so the lumber company can legally cut them down and plant a non-native money crop. A kid (Tye Sheridan) stuck in a horrible home life comes looking for work, and Cage takes the kid under his wing and eventually into his life.The Good: I looked up a bunch of Best Movie Villains of 2013, and I admitted to being both disappointed and bit surprised not to see the name Gary Poulter on the list. Gary is an actual homeless alcoholic that director David Gordon Green recruited for the pivotal role of the kid's father. He gives the best performance in the film. Honestly, Poulter gives one of the best performances you will ever see. He is a genuinely terrific actor. Or that just the way he was in real life and he can’t act a lick. We, unfortunately, will never know as he was found dead soon after filming wrapped up drowned in a shallow puddle.There are a lot of details about time and place that this movie nails to an almost disturbing degree. You forget you are watching a movie and you forget that it stars Nicholas Cage. It almost seems more like a documentary than a fictional piece at times. David Gordon Green's use of real people and locals instead of actors makes a difference.This movie reminded me more than a bit of that Matthew McConaughey film Mud to the point that I looked Mud up and realized that Tye Sheridan played a similar role in that film as well only a year earlier. That is some tight typecasting.The Bad: I like my Heroes flawed, but occasionally Joe takes those flaws beyond an event horizon or two. It is hardly a deal breaker, but the frustrating protagonist and the slow pace can make parts of the film feel a bit more of a slog than perhaps they should have. Part of me wishes the whole enterprise was a touch tighter but then it wouldn’t be what it is and I like what it is just fine.The Ugly: I know I joke about it at the beginning of the review, but some of Cage’s newer fans are in no way prepared for a slow drama with bursts of violence and cruelty.In Conclusion: Joe is a slightly better film than Mud due to almost entirely the performance of Gary Poulter. I cannot emphasize enough how refreshing it is to see such a great villain on the screen. Poulter's performance along with the authenticity of the overall production differentiates Joe from a lot of the usual southern gothic poverty porn actors showcases and elevates it to a thriller worth watching again.

Interesting storyline. Cage was perfect for this role.

Cage reminds me of his role in Leaving Las Vegas. Very dark. Definitely not a light Saturday night movie to curl up with your better half on the sofa. The music is haunting and really sets the undertone of the movie. Cage’s performance is incredible. Keep the bottle of Jack Daniels close and all sharp objects out of the room, this is a very dark movie, without outstanding supporting actors. The father was a great villain, especially when you read about his real life. Definitely one of Cage’s best performances. Unforgettable. You will not asleep right after watching, will take a while to come down from the intensity.

The plot was very meh and very chaotic with no real reasoning I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again but if nothing else was on I'd play it in the background

This is a review of the 2014 Region B2 Blu-ray from Curzon Film World. This independent 2013 film, from director David Gordon Green, was also produced by him. It was first shown at film festivals, and has gained a critical reputation, although on release, it did poorly at the Box Office.‘Joe’ is a very tough film, with a hard, uncompromising story, rugged performances and a gritty look. It is set in a poverty-striken, run-down part of Texas. This is not the America of Hollywood Boulevard or glittering skyscrapers. This is dirt-poor, seedy, forgotten America, living in second-hand trailers, shopping in grungy little road-side stores, and eking out a living doing not-quite-legal jobs. Gordon Green, and his regular Cinematographer Tim Orr, capture this perfectly, with the heat, the seen-better-days trucks, trash, mangy dogs, and cheap liquor.The star is Nicolas Cage. Whilst Cage has starred in many films over the years, has also directed, and has often been particularly well-paid for his roles, he has always been in the second tier of Hollywood stars. His most noteworthy performance, for which he won an OSCAR, was romantic drama ‘Leaving Las Vegas’, way back in 1995. Over the years, he has also gained a reputation for extreme ‘Method’ acting, for taking on particularly flamboyant, even grotesque, roles, and for quite radical performances. Some of his fellow actors rate him highly however, including Sean Penn and Ethan Hawke, and director David Lynch.This background, regarding his acting style, is relevant here. His performance as the eponymous Joe, who runs an illicit forestry business in backwoods Texas, has been widely described as his best for many years. It is quite flamboyant ~ Joe has issues with anger and authority ~ but it is also measured, controlled, understated and powerful. His co-star in Texan Ty Sheridan, then only 17. Sheridan plays Gary Jones, the son of a violent alcoholic work-shy father. Gary is determined to earn money to put food on the table for his mother and younger sister, and keep a roof over their heads. Old beyond his years, he seeks employment with Joe’s illicit crew.Many of the other actors in the production were locals ~ something that Gordon Green does regularly in his productions. Gary’s father, Wade, was played by street performer Gary Poulter, in reality homeless and an alcoholic. Poulter died shortly after filming finished, but his performance is mesmerising in it’s booze and blood-soaked reality. The late A.J. Wilson McPhaul is also excellent as Sheriff Earl.The film follows the way that working together brings Joe and Gary’s separate worlds, both already chaotic and violent, together. This is a raw, powerful film, not pretty, tough to watch in places, but with the sort of truthfulness and quality that is often only to be found in Indie films, free from the constraints and concerns of the big studios. Don’t miss it.

Ex-Con 'Joe Ranson' (Nicolas Cage) lives and plays by his own rules, he's tried to control his temperand dislike for authority in the shape of the local law-enforcement.Joe' is in the Forestry business he pays a fair days pay for a fair days work, he's a no nonsense guy.Though he try's to stay out of trouble, trouble tends to come his way, the backwoods people have away of life all of their own.'Joe' comes across a young lad 'Gary Jones' (Tye Sheridan) who's looking for work, he'd seen the ladthe previous night by the grocery store he where he picks up and drops off his work crew.'Gary' has a torrid home life, taking a regular beating from his alcoholic father.He gives the 15 year old a chance to earn, 'Gary' proves himself a good worker.Joe' befriends the youngster which is somewhat out of character, but has realized the problems 'Gary'has at home, 'Joe' becomes very protective of the youngster.Backwood rough-necks that have crossed 'Joe's' path before appear to be causing 'Gary' and his youngsister problems with the blessing of his waste of space father, 'Joe' will need to do what he see's as theright thing.This is 'Nicolas Cage' at his best in this gritty and no-nonsense backwoods drama, it is on occasion prettyviolent, and should hold your attention.Takes a little while to wind-up perhaps but well worth taking time-out for.Good picture and sound quality throughout.Features -* Making of 'Joe' featurette.* Theatrical Trailer.

Contains possible spoilers'Brutal and beautiful' is how a reviewer on The Arts Desk describes it; to anyone who thinks these two words can go together, the film may have some appeal, but really, the brutality is fairly willed by the plot. All turpitude is here: an alcoholic father who murders a fellow drunk, beats up his son and draws a knife on him, and pimps out his own daughter who must be no more than fourteen. Even the good guy, Joe, is doing forestry work that involves killing trees by swinging at them in order to be able to inject poison into them; he at one point is so enraged by a barking dog at a brothel that he goes to get his own dog, also a fierce barker, sets it on the first one which it savages to death, while he pops upstairs for some oral sex with a prostitute. When he comes back down, he just walks out with his blood-stained dog, and that's that. His core of decency is brought out by the fifteen-year-old Gary, the son of the drunk, who works for him. He early on sees the father knock the son to the ground and steal his wages. This concern can only be expressed by a trip to search for the missing dog, when they engage in some unconvincing trying to act out feelings as if in an acting class, the giving of a truck and lighter, and in the horrible denouement ; there is little sense of any actual relationship. It is also unconvincing in basic points of plot; why, when Joe is already sheltering a young woman from her mother's boyfriend, would he not shelter Gary from his abusive father? He only offers right at the very end. Would there even be a very aggressive dog coming to the door in a brothel? Wouldn't this be the last thing they would want? The film is not concerned with this sort of question - just with creating mood, using moody music and shooting in rooms so dark you can hardly make out what's going on. For all the people who are beaten up or murdered, the film is very puritanical about even the hint of sex, and uses it as the symbol of the utmost evil intent in the final scene - maybe it's for this reason that the two brief moments when Joe embraces Gary are shot in almost total darkness, so you have to guess it as much as see it.The performance by Tye Sheridan as Gary is very good, but the film is not worthy of his talents. Nicolas Cage is not so convincing, I don't think - there's some kind of gauze over the character that results in a kind of flatness rather than burning mystery. For instance, when Gary tells him of the awful pimping of the mute daughter that is about to take place, he closes his eyes in a gesture that seems so theatrical, it just isn't convincing. Then he opens them, and springs into action, although it isn't clear how he knows where out on the open road to find them ...

Great DVD, adding to my Nicolas Cage and Tye Sheridan collection.Wonderful.

I loved the trailer, hated the movie. If you've seen the trailer, you've seen all the good parts of the movie.They could have cut half the movie and it would have been much better.