Your 2011 film Killer Joe has finally become available here in the Netherlands and I have been waiting for it for quite a while now. In the early 70s you have made two absolute classics, The French Connection and The Exorcist, and finished your spree in 1980 with the underrated Cruising. In 2003, I went to the cinema on my own to see your new film The Hunted. It was entertaining while it lasted, but it was a shame to see that it had fallen into the mediocre Hollywood category. I am pleased to see that, at your age, you have made a 180 degree turn in terms of new projects, starting with the 2006 film Bug. I did not understand it, but it was a welcome change in your director's reel. And now, with Killer Joe, you have turned movie land and its movie goers upside down again with a mean, dirty, and all over controversial film. It has gotten the rare NC-17 rating in your country and this can mean only one thing: lots of sex and violence! I am glad you have made no consessions towards the milder R rating.
The film is full of nasty surprises, but the good surprise is the performance of the actors. I am glad that you could persuade Matthew McConaughey, the go-to Texan actor it seems, to play the part of Killer Joe. He is so intimidating and yet so slick. He is clean-shaven – everywhere – and yet very rough. Speaking of hair, the women in this movie show a lot of pubic hair. Is this to emphasize a contrast between them being trailer trash and Joe being a more 'civilized' police detective? I have to admit i chuckled when the woman flashed her bush in front of her step-son when she opened the door of the trailer. I know Gina Gershon does not shy away from showing herself, and I am glad she went all the way in this film. She seemed the most committed to this project, as the most humiliating scene of the film involved her performing fellatio on a deep fried chicken leg. Now, I am not an American and KFC is not really a part of our Dutch culture, but is it a visual metaphor for the dumb people sucking the cock of the big fast food chains? I really hope so, because, as you may have noticed, I am trying to make sense of this movie.
The story you have chosen is actually quite simple. It is not unique at all. A guy named Chris (Emile Hirsch) owes some guys some money and he has to get it within a very short period of time. His mother has a big life insurance, and from what we know she is supposed to be a real monster of a woman, so it would be no biggie to get her killed. It turns out all the money will be given to Dottie (Juno Temple), the younger sister of Chris, so through her, they can split it four ways among the dad (great performance by Thomas Haden Church!), the step-mom and the kids. Killer Joe is the corrupt detective who has a killing job on the side, but we never see him kill anyone. Not even the mother! Is this another joke? And who are we supposed to root for in this film? I thought it was Chris, but he is so dumb. It can't be Joe, because he is such a sick fuck. He keeps the young Dottie – how old is she supposed to be again? – as a 'retainer' for his money until he gets his share. You have made everyone (except for Dottie, maybe) an asshole in this movie, so there is no way I was going to invest my emotions in any of them.
The pacing of the story was also a problem for me. There is a lot of meaningless dialogue that goes nowhere and some scenes just drag on. Are we supposed to feel uncomfortable while watching this? When Dottie undressed herself in front of Joe, and he turned around when she revealed her private parts, the viewer is the only one watching her get naked. Was this your intention? Also, the dark humor in this film worked sometimes, but usually not. I did not know when to laugh, because it was so violent. I am all about excessive violence mixed with humor, but there was no contrasting entity in this film that made sense of it all. I did laugh at the suit of the dad falling apart at the notary public. This joke was perfectly timed. The visual humor was so innocent and really appreciated in this dark film. See? That's contrast! This works!
Now, I am not here to tell you what you can and cannot do. You have made this uncompromising film with a big intention – I am not sure what it is, yet – and that is a great thing. Although, I did feel a bit like you were telling me what I can and cannot feel for the characters involved. Everyone was so unlikable that I had no choice but to conform to that. And the ending was so abrupt, that I felt a bit cheated. But please, keep on making these kinds of films. I heard you were making a new one with Nicolas Cage called I Am Wrath, where he takes the law into his own hands. I am very excited! For the record: I'd rather see a failed project from a master than a PG-13 rated, big budget Hollywood production.
Sincerely,
Tomas D. Dekkers
