Film Review: Killer Joe

Director: William Friedkin

The experienced director William Friedkin has an excellent record with previous films, he produces films that stay with you for different reasons. The French Connection is remembered for one of the best car chase scenes and The Exorcist is known for its shocking scenes and is generally seen as one of the best horror movies of all time. Here many critics left the Venice Film Festival shocked at what has now been named "the fried chicken scene".

Set in Texas, Chris Smith (Emile Hirsch) owes a local gang boss for gambling debt so decides the best way to make the problem disappear is to have his mother killed for the insurance money. He agrees this with his dad Ansel (Thomas Haden Church) who has separated from Chris' mother and now lives in a trailer with Sharla (Gina Gershon) and Chris' naive and innocent sister Dottie (Juno Temple). They agree to claim the $50,000 in insurance and pay half to local cop "Killer" Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) but naturally not everything goes to plan.

Chris (Emile Hirsch) and Cop Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) 

The brutal finale in the trailer is completely lead by the psychotic Joe Cooper played by Matthew McConaughey who is unrecognizable from almost every other role I've seen him play. His quiet menace builds throughout the film to this incredible crescendo. The role of Dottie played by Juno Temple is also beautifully played as the naive childlike younger sister who is suddenly forced into this adult world.

At times Friedkin almost makes this a black comedy as the trailer trash characters delve into a world far too complex and dangerous for them to understand. Their dim-wittedness at times is amusing but also expected as Hirsch's character lurches from one problem to another usually of his own making. The move of taking this story from a play to a feature film isn't without its problems, the final scene works beautifully but I think the claustrophobic feel of a theatre stage would suit the material very well. The final act has to be entirely carried by McConaughey which isn't always possible and Hirsch portrays a particularly uninteresting character that struggles to bring much to the screen.

2.5/4 Slow developing thriller quickly smashes its way to a brutal climax