Killer Joe (2011)

The movie 'Killer Joe' is a collaboration between screenwriter Tracy Letts and the recently deceased maestro director William Friedkin ('French Connection' and 'The Exorcist'). The duo previously made the film 'Bug', and both movies are based on stage plays (also by Letts), a fact that clearly shines through in the set design and dialog. I didn't know the background when I saw the movie, but quickly guessed that it was an adapted play, a genre that I find problematic (and have described in more detail in my review of "The Whale"). In any case, it's a really bad idea to have the playwright write the screenplay, as the two formats use different techniques that require special skills. I should also mention that Letts is probably better known as an (excellent) actor from later films such as "Ford v Ferrari", "Lady Bird", "Little Women", "The Post" and the TV series "Homeland".

"Killer Joe" is a combo of hardcore social realism and pitch-black humor. We find ourselves at the very bottom of society with a dysfunctional family in a trailer park outside Dallas. The cast is a bunch of anti-social rednecks with an average double-digit IQ. The father (Thomas Haden Church) is a mechanic, his (new) wife (Gina Gershon) a former stripper turned pizza shop waitress, the 22-year-old son (Emile Hirsch) a drug dealer with a bunch of gangsters on his tail, and the underage daughter (Juno Temple) pretty, innocent and dumb as a doornail.

Enter mentally disturbed cop Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), nicknamed Killer Joe because he moonlights as an hired assassin. The family is interested (and in agreement) in murdering the father's ex-wife in order to get their hands on an inheritance that will go to their daughter. Joe needs $25,000 cash for the job and the family doesn't have it, so he takes the underage daughter as collateral, and yes, immediately gets physical  with the virgin. There is some sexual content, but that's nothing compared to the extravagant violence orgy dominating the third act.

A crude and grotesque piece of trailer trash noir, elevated by McConaughey's sublime performance. It's currently available for streaming on Prime.

Review: The Whale

Filmatiseret teater er en såre vanskelig disciplin, især når filmens manus (som her) er skrevet af den samme mand, som forfattede teaterstykket og ikke har formået at transformere projektet til det hvide lærred. På film kan man vise følelser med...