I can guarantee one thing after watching Killer Joe, you will never look at fried chicken the same again. William Friedkin’s new film is a dark, brutal and surprisingly comedic tale. Matthew McConaughey plays Joe Cooper, a detective with a lethal business on the side…he kills for money. All you need is $25,000 and he’ll take care of anyone you wish. Just don’t fuck with him or you’re liable to end up dead.
I sat in the Leo Bing theatre at the LACMA for the premiere and Q&A at the LA Film Festival. Aside from a few rude filmgoers in the back, everyone was listening intently to Friedkin’s stories about Linda Blair, Roy Schieder and his overall casting process. According to him, he never auditions anyone for his films. He simply meets them, feels them out and offers the job. The director appeared relaxed and exited. He was making constant jokes and going all out with movie trivia. He was especially complimentary of the writer, Tracy Letts’, original stage play. Friedkin has adapted more than one play in his career. In 2006 he made the film, Bug, with Michael Shannon. He has also directed many operas around the world.
The first thing you notice is the cinematography by award winner Caleb Deschanel. Deschanel came up on stage briefly during the Q&A and talked about using the ARRI Alexa for the first time. He had never shot on digital before, but you couldn’t tell. The shadows and color were perfect. The second thing that surprised me about the film was how funny it really is. The subject matter surely isn’t comedic, but the dialogue between Thomas Hayden Church and Emile Hirsch, as father and son, was hilarious. The director kept telling the audience that it was a comedy, but we all thought he was joking. It really is funny, dirty and bloody. There are a few scenes with the beautiful Juno Temple and McConaughey that really make the viewer uncomfortable. Naturally that was the intention, but you could feel the audience just waiting for the scene to finish. Speaking of Juno, her performance was really unexpected and wonderful. I have seen her in a few films before and you can bet that you’ll see her more and more. You could never tell that she has a thick British accent. She does the Texas accent perfectly. Apparently Friedkin had never heard of Temple until he received an audition video over the Internet. She and her 10-year-old brother were reading the scenes together, some of which may not have been totally appropriate for a 10 year old. Another great actor in this film is Gina Gershon. She plays a character that is so easy to hate that it had to be hard to pull off. The most standout performance though, hands down, was from Matthew McConaughey. After The Lincoln Lawyer, this is another role that makes us all take McConaughey more seriously. After his string of romantic comedies, it’s great to see him shine in such a unique and obscure role. There isn’t much I want to give away about his performance because the less you know, the better the experience will be.
When submitted for rating, the MPAA stuck Killer Joe with an NC-17. Usually a relative death sentence when it comes to exhibiting in theaters, the studio took a chance on it anyway and I’m sure it will pay off. This is the second film in the last two years (Shame, 2011) that has received the controversial rating and has been distributed in spite of the MPAA’s decision. Hopefully this is the beginning of a new trend in the ratings system.
The only criticisms I have of the film are less important technical details. There is a fight scene in the middle of the film that is too staged, with obvious fake punches and kicks. There are also some issues with the recorded dialogue in certain sections of the film. Both of these issues don’t seem to bother Friedkin though. In the Q&A, Caleb Deschanel mentioned Friedkin’s affinity for very few takes. At one point, Deschanel wanted to reshoot a scene due to the reflection of the camera in the car window. Apparently the director’s response was, “Don’t you think the audience knows we shoot movies on movie cameras?” It seems that Friedkin isn’t overly concerned with the specifics and concentrates more on the overall performances of his actors. In the case of Killer Joe, he hit it out of the park. I don’t know what else to say other than, go see this film. But beware, it’s probably not for your Mom or Grandma.
I sat in the Leo Bing theatre at the LACMA for the premiere and Q&A at the LA Film Festival. Aside from a few rude filmgoers in the back, everyone was listening intently to Friedkin’s stories about Linda Blair, Roy Schieder and his overall casting process. According to him, he never auditions anyone for his films. He simply meets them, feels them out and offers the job. The director appeared relaxed and exited. He was making constant jokes and going all out with movie trivia. He was especially complimentary of the writer, Tracy Letts’, original stage play. Friedkin has adapted more than one play in his career. In 2006 he made the film, Bug, with Michael Shannon. He has also directed many operas around the world.
The first thing you notice is the cinematography by award winner Caleb Deschanel. Deschanel came up on stage briefly during the Q&A and talked about using the ARRI Alexa for the first time. He had never shot on digital before, but you couldn’t tell. The shadows and color were perfect. The second thing that surprised me about the film was how funny it really is. The subject matter surely isn’t comedic, but the dialogue between Thomas Hayden Church and Emile Hirsch, as father and son, was hilarious. The director kept telling the audience that it was a comedy, but we all thought he was joking. It really is funny, dirty and bloody. There are a few scenes with the beautiful Juno Temple and McConaughey that really make the viewer uncomfortable. Naturally that was the intention, but you could feel the audience just waiting for the scene to finish. Speaking of Juno, her performance was really unexpected and wonderful. I have seen her in a few films before and you can bet that you’ll see her more and more. You could never tell that she has a thick British accent. She does the Texas accent perfectly. Apparently Friedkin had never heard of Temple until he received an audition video over the Internet. She and her 10-year-old brother were reading the scenes together, some of which may not have been totally appropriate for a 10 year old. Another great actor in this film is Gina Gershon. She plays a character that is so easy to hate that it had to be hard to pull off. The most standout performance though, hands down, was from Matthew McConaughey. After The Lincoln Lawyer, this is another role that makes us all take McConaughey more seriously. After his string of romantic comedies, it’s great to see him shine in such a unique and obscure role. There isn’t much I want to give away about his performance because the less you know, the better the experience will be.
When submitted for rating, the MPAA stuck Killer Joe with an NC-17. Usually a relative death sentence when it comes to exhibiting in theaters, the studio took a chance on it anyway and I’m sure it will pay off. This is the second film in the last two years (Shame, 2011) that has received the controversial rating and has been distributed in spite of the MPAA’s decision. Hopefully this is the beginning of a new trend in the ratings system.
The only criticisms I have of the film are less important technical details. There is a fight scene in the middle of the film that is too staged, with obvious fake punches and kicks. There are also some issues with the recorded dialogue in certain sections of the film. Both of these issues don’t seem to bother Friedkin though. In the Q&A, Caleb Deschanel mentioned Friedkin’s affinity for very few takes. At one point, Deschanel wanted to reshoot a scene due to the reflection of the camera in the car window. Apparently the director’s response was, “Don’t you think the audience knows we shoot movies on movie cameras?” It seems that Friedkin isn’t overly concerned with the specifics and concentrates more on the overall performances of his actors. In the case of Killer Joe, he hit it out of the park. I don’t know what else to say other than, go see this film. But beware, it’s probably not for your Mom or Grandma.
