You Were Never Really Here (2017) is one of those artsy movies that tends to be popular among critics but the general audience tends to be very split on how good the movie truly is. Most people praise the directing, the cinematography, as well as Joaquin Phoenix’s amazing performance. However, that is where the praise ends. You Were Never Really Here (2017) movie review
Phoenix’s character (Joe) plays a traumatized veteran. He has seen his dose of violence tracking down missing women for a living. After his last job goes south, he starts to question his life and the direction it takes. He doesn’t say much and has a very intimidating presence as well as what could be considered anger issues.
As mentioned, the movie is beautifully shot and acted. Joaquin’s presence is certainly memorable as a man who is brutal and emotionless in his approach. However, he does seem to be troubled but tends to not show it much. Throughout the movie we seem him taking care of his mother while tracking down people on the side.
It’s not that the movie is bad, it’s just boring. Most of the movie we see Joe tracking down people, observing their activity, taking care of his mother, and shopping for supplies. When action happens, it happens off screen and we see the aftermath of it (usually not very gory). We see action through a camera which doesn’t have as big of an impact as regular action. The kills are usually done with a hammer, which is brutal, but very subdued. According to director Lynne Ramsay, due to budget restraints, a big action scene could not be filmed so the movie has “post rage aftermath scenes” instead of on screen graphic violence. Even the director thought this was risky but couldn’t do reshoots later on.
As for violence, as mentioned, besides one kill that was very graphic and shown in a lot of detail, the movie has some kill scenes that are seen through camera lens, seen from afar, or seen after it happens. As for Joe, he says maybe 15 sentences throughout the movie and we don’t really get to know him a lot. He is not well developed or interesting for that matter.
Overall the movie itself is bland and forgettable. Unless you like great cinematography and/or are a big fan of Phoenix, I would say skip this one. The movie is unconventional and it doesn’t follow a lot of set tropes for this type of a movie, so we can at least admire the director’s ability to make something different and take some risks. I would say it is worth a watch if you like movies about people with troubled pasts.
Thanks for reading my You Were Never Really Here (2017) movie review
