Rating of
2.5/4
A Dark, Dark Film
mitchellyoung - wrote on 12/28/12
Here's the dilemma of "Killer Joe" for me: it's a well-made and often very engrossing and tense film, and, yet, I couldn't get past the deplorable characters made to do even more deplorable things. William Friedkin has a knack for directing dysfunctional and out-of-control characters with a flair for the dramatic. Sometimes it works (as in the incredible and classic French Connection) and sometimes it doesn't (as in Friedkin's previous film, Bug, which is laughably bad.) I suspect that "Killer Joe" will work for a lot of people who will recognize its artistic merit, but, for me, not having any moral center to grasp onto, I left the film feeling empty. The performances are fantastic, and all the actors can be praised for fleshing out some interesting acting choices. Matthew McConaughey plays certainly one of the most complete performances of his career - as a terrifying and ruthless killer. Emile Hirsch does well as the unhinged catalyst for the film, Juno Temple is good at playing wide-eyed and innocent, and Thomas Haden Church deserves a special mention as the stupid and cuckolded father.
In the end, the film doesn't do much more than present some screwed up characters, find dark humor in their screwed up mess of a contract killer scheme, and leave the audience to witness the inevitable (and brutal) falling apart of their schemes. It just didn't work for me, beyond appreciating the craft of what I witnessed. And, yes, that infamous chicken scene is all kinds of horrible and uncomfortable, but I guess it was (maybe?) necessary to establish the depths of the horror of McConaughey's character.
