By Robert Yaniz Jr.

DAY 7 OF THE 2018 HOLIDAY BINGE

Lynne Ramsay’s nerve-shattering thriller delivers a visceral, character-based experience.

THE HYPE

It’s not every day that a film’s reputation snowballs in the way that You Were Never Really Here‘s has. Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017, the film made its way through the festival circuit and international release before finally debuting on U.S. screens back in April. Writer/director Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk about Kevin) is known for her provocative projects, and the combination of her distinctive talents and the fierce commitment of Joaquin Phoenix felt like it might hold the promise of something very special.

THE STORY

In the film, Phoenix plays Joe, a kind of mercenary who tracks down and retrieves missing people by any means necessary (let’s just say the man knows how to use a hammer to brutal effect). That is until one job leads his secluded life into full-on catastrophe. Although Joe faces numerous foes throughout the course of the film, his true antagonists are his inner demons, as he grapples with a tragic past that is merely hinted at through brief sporadic glimpses that interrupt the main action just as they invade Joe’s own thoughts.

THE CAST

Phoenix — perhaps still best known for his villainous, scenery-chewing role in Gladiator — has been on a hot streak in recent years, embracing eccentric characters in films like Inherent Vice and Her. However, You Were Never Really Here sees him dialed-down, disconnected and despondent. Though he’s capable of great violence, Joe is so burdened by his past that he can barely function in the real world. It’s hard to believe this is the same versatile performer who is about to put his own stamp on the Joker.

THE PRODUCTION

As if Phoenix’s performance wasn’t enough, Ramsay’s direction drips with dread from the opening frames until that haunting final shot. Through a combination of Jonny Greenwood’s noose-tightening score to the meticulous editing, the film really puts viewers in Joe’s headspace. Even the violence is handled with such precision. One sequence relies on a series of surveillance cameras to follow Joe’s trajectory, and though the camera reveals the aftermath, the psychological impact of such brutality emerges.

THE VERDICT

You Were Never Really Here is not a film for the anxiety-prone. Ramsay’s film is a mediation on the toll that violence takes on those who experience it as well as those it dish it out. Because of how viscerally she conveys that sensation, Ramsay accomplishes something profound, using sparse dialogue and minimal backstory to allow Joe’s tale to speak for itself. Not a film that overexplains itself, You Were Never Really Here might strike some as a slow burn, but the focus on character over plot is precisely why it’s so rich.

You Were Never Really Here stars Joaquin Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov, Alex Manette, John Doman and Judith Roberts and is directed by Lynne Ramsay.