There seems to be two schools of thought as regards being in debt. There are those who avoid it and run away from who ever they owe money to. Then there are those who try to come up with a way to get themselves out of the debt crisis. Most of the time the scheme is hair brained and complications arise.
People who live in trailers have not been well served by films. They are always being depicted as dumb. 'Killer Joe' does not break that stereotype. The Smith family are not exactly well furnished in the brains department and Chris is possibly the dumbest because of the crazy scheme he comes up with to pay off a drug debt. His father admits to being dumb but Chris is dumber because of the stupid scheme he comes up with. Writer Tracy Letts has taken these characters and this plot to craft a wonderfully trashy comedy. Friedkin has then gone and added some brutal violence to the mix and you get a really delightful piece of cinema. Tracy has created some wonderfully trashy characters that you just have to laugh at with their idiotic behaviour. there is however a real spanner in their works and that comes in the form of Joe Cooper. He is one of the most scarily creepy characters ever put onto film. He is definitely a man taking advantage of these dumb people and while he is very sadistic in his approach you can't help but be amused. That is the dark side in me.
This group of actors can play dumb really well. Emile Hirsch gives Chris some sense of believability that makes you think his crazy scheme might work. Thomas Hayden Church is excellent as always. His character admits to being dumb which he plays well. Gina Gershon has played some trashy women in her career and this one is no different. I have to respect her fro some of the things her character has to go through at the end of the film. Juno Temple treads a fine line with her character. Dottie is 'not quite there' mentally and so can be taken advantage of. Her family don't treat her all that well but do show her love. Juno is able to play that aloofness really well and still show flashes of intelligence like she does know what is going on. The real reason to see this film though is Matthew McConaughey. I don't know what has happened but Matthew has been making some brilliant choices with his roles lately. He just keeps getting better with each performance. I think this is the first time that Matthew has played a bad guy and I don't think you get get someone more evil than this. The way he treats this family and takes advantage of them is a thing of beauty. His encounter with Gina's character Sharla is amazing. It will change the way you think about KFC.
The violence is shocking and it may turn you off KFC or fried chicken in general but this still an excellent comedy/thriller. Matthew McConaughey's performance is worth the price of admission.
No comments:
Post a Comment