You Were Never Really Here

[Ezee E]

IMDB

[transmogrifier]

74/100

I was not a fan of Ramsey's Ratcatcher, whose mix of high misery and high art came across as alternately precious and dull; as a result, I avoided everything she did after that. But, given that I think Phoenix is the best actor of his generation, I decided to bite the bullet and give Ramsey another shot...

And I've glad I did, because this is a fantastic collision of genre pulp nonsense and a directorial vision that eschews genre pulp nonsense, creating the fever dream of a man who was once committed to helping others the institutional way (army, police) but found that it wasn't enough; darkness always finds a way, and the only choice left is to turn it against itself and commit. Joe commits; it's a lumbering, unemotional commitment, but he does what is necessary to redirect the blackness away from innocents and towards the more deserving.

I've seen some criticize the fact that Nina has no life of her own as a character, but that is the point - the entire film is from Joe's point of view - we do not see any scene between other characters that Joe does not see or hear or hallucinate. Nina is not a character to him. She is a mission, a reminder of what he has committed to doing.

Ramsey keeps things ragged and jagged, as we tumble through Joe's mind. At times, it becomes a little redundant (the flashbacks to Joe as a kid starts to wear after a while...) but she keeps finding indelible images and connections and jarring editing points to keep us firmly stuck in Joe's perspective.

[Peng]

Ramsay's direction and Phoenix's performance are superb -- I'm especially keen on Ramsay whittling a bunch of familiar genre tropes down to unpredictable, jarring cuts, making the story thrum with her own rhythmic energy. However, the film still feels missing a core, or at least some nuances that might justify its faintly self-important air. Phoenix's Joe being a void looks at first like a way to only know him through jagged flashes into his mind. But when the only other significant character, Nina, barely exists beyond being a symbol to Joe, it clarifies the film somewhat and the whole thing starts to feel not so much impressionistic as actively underdeveloped, especially as it moves into the final act. Cutting down story to jagged edges might be an immersive, new way to do/explore genre thrills, but some things might need to be added if that story is barely there to support anything more. 6.5/10

[Spinal]

Joaquin Phoenix and Lynne Ramsay are a perfect pairing. I'd love to see them work together again. Both of them do excellent work here. I was impressed with Ramsay's approach to her subject matter. She artfully reigns in a lot of the violence that could have made the film a slog, and yet it certainly doesn't feel sanitized. The emotional weight reaches us, and that's what matters. The remaining violent actions that we see unfiltered appropriately retain their horrifying power. I loved the erratic editing choices and the Jonny Greenwood score.

[Ezee E]

Joaquin Phoenix and Lynne Ramsay are a perfect pairing. I'd love to see them work together again. Both of them do excellent work here. I was impressed with Ramsay's approach to her subject matter. She artfully reigns in a lot of the violence that could have made the film a slog, and yet it certainly doesn't feel sanitized. The emotional weight reaches us, and that's what matters. The remaining violent actions that we see unfiltered appropriately retain their horrifying power. I loved the erratic editing choices and the Jonny Greenwood score.

Oh nice. Didn't realize he was behind the score.

[Mal]

I need a hug. This was really fucking great and Joaquin is in top form.

[Henry Gale]

Only caught up with it about a month ago(??) but it's a supremely good film. Just so beautiful and brutal all at once. Phoenix as good as ever, Greenwood's score jaggedly lush and haunting, with Ramsey orchestrating those elements and every one in between so expertly and potently. One of the year's best in a very, very good year.

Also I happened to watch it the same week as Fukunaga's Maniac, which weirdly used the same mansion at the end of this film for its Neberdine mansion in its fifth episode, a coincidence that only added to fluid dreaminess of that show.