Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Joe
2013

Director: David Gordon Green
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Tye Sheridan, Heather Kafka, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Brian Mays, Sue Rock, Adriene Mishler, Gary Poulter, Dana Freitag

Joe is a lonely and miserable ex-con with a lot of bottled-up rage. He sees something of himself in the troubled but hard-working 15-year-old Gary, who attempts to break free from his abusive father. The poor, rural Texas setting in this adaptation of Larry Brown's novel brings back memories of Winter's Bone. However, Debra Granik's gloomy surprise hit was a barrel of fun compared to the oppressive ugliness served by David Gordon Green. Towards the end of the aimless first hour, it is still unclear who or what the story is about. It does find focus in the second half, but the accumulation of misery becomes overwhelming. It starts with men killing trees, but by the end a man has repeatedly beaten up his son, solicited his daughter for \$30, and bashed another man's head in for a bottle of wine. And that's all before the violent climax. In this world, even the dogs kill each other. Nicolas Cage gives a rare restrained performance, which goes to waste.