Went into this not knowing anything other than Joaquin Phoenix was in it. I was floored by it on all levels. It's a masterpiece and Joaquin is a force of nature once again. Going to watch it and the Master again very soon
Same here. I was scanning netflix for something I've not seen and saw Phoenix and instantly clicked play. I too was floored, more shocked by the content because I didn't even bother watching the trailer for it. That's how much I love his acting.
'You Were Never Really Here' is an absolute masterpiece though. He missed talking about the near-constant softness and tenderness of the film and of Joe - which is so beautifully done because it's found among such savagely stark & naked violence. The moment they immediately springs to mind is when Joe lays down next to guy who probably killed his mother and then holds his hand as he dies. And when he first gives him the oxycotin you think (and want) it to be to keep him alive so Joe can torture him for information and revenge for his mother; but it unfolds (without being said) that it was a genuine act of mercy. To be honest my experience of violence as someone who was a drug addict for about half of my life at this point (31) made seeing this film last night really speak to me & resolve something inside me that hadn't been before. It's such as beautiful exploration of the nature of trauma, the chaos & the peacefulness of violence, how really extreme violence changes you and it's set in that place you reach where you're just done with it all and can't take any of it anymore but you don't have the option to stop because you're so deep in that world that if you give up you're probably going to die. It feels like this film doesn't have heroes only victims who are suffering and that's a world I've lived in. This film really touched me so much. I imagine for servicemen there's a whole over layer to it too. But what an absolute masterpiece. I love film but I haven't had a true cinema experience like this in a long long time.
Best film of 2018 so far. Just saw it at Harbour Lights in Southampton. Have been anticipating the next Ramsay since We Need to Talk About Kevin and this is similarly haunting, emotional and decisive filmmaking. Phoenix delivers one of his very best performances, and Greenwood one of his best scores to date. Absolutely brutal and beautifully subtle. A must-see.
1:18 As I was watching, expecting there to be footage to go along with the audio, I didn’t immediately realise it was just a frozen image of Joaquin Phoenix! I was thinking: "Wow! He’s keeping _REALLY_ still!" But as the clip went on - & I _CONTINUED_ to stare at my iPad screen, even though I *NOW* knew it *WASN’T* a video - he’s such a phenomenal actor, I *SWEAR* that it looks as though *HE DOES ACTUALLY MOVE* [or _"MORPH"!]_ for a fraction of a second, every now & then! ...However, in all honesty, I must confess that I’m currently _MASSIVELY_ sleep deprived [43 hrs+ & counting 😬], so it’s *ENTIRELY* possible that I’m just hallucinating at this point! Anyway, *GREAT FILM, EVEN BETTER PERFORMANCE!!!*
If Lynne Ramsay was a male filmmaker she would definitely be the type of director filmbros go crazy for. She's too skilled and too talented for how little acclaimed she is.
I’m a huge fan but she’s only had 3 movies so far … and it’s not like she’s pulling an aster or eggars. Very personal films tho and love the way they’re shot
I watched it last night. It's amazing I loved the 'distance' aspect with the violence. You didn't see much but it hit you just as hard in a more profound way for it. I did just about follow what was going on but had to re - watch a few key dialogue scenes afterwards with the subs on to catch the actual words - when people do speak, they mumble. Surprised how much of it I got the first time without actually catching the dialogue though. It's so well done, you hardly need any at all to propel the story.
The answer to the final question is yes. I agree with 95% of this and i love this film and Lynne Ramsay's work but i totally get why some people can't take to this film
Just came back from seeing this. Have to say, I was pretty underwhelmed. The only other Lynne Ramsay film I’ve seen is We Need To Talk About Kevin, and while there were things in that film that I admired, it didn’t really do it for me either. I thought You Were Never Really Here looked more promising, but all of the problems I had with Kevin were present here: too many languorous shots of people staring silently at each, and very little in the way of momentum. I don’t care what Mark says; when it comes to characterisation, silent brooding is not a substitute for good dialogue. Bar a few sequences, I didn’t actually find it be necessarily all that cinematic either. The nightmarish urban cityscape thing was evoked with far more visual panache in something like Drive, and some of Ramsay’s symbolism is pretty basic and heavy-handed (hey, look at that, some red food looks a bit like blood!) I found it very chilly overall, and by the end, kind of dreary to be honest. There was nothing really to latch on to or care about. The relationship between Joe and the girl had none of the pathos of Travis and Iris’s relationship in Taxi Driver, or the heart of Leon and Mathilda’s in Leon, because the girl was just a complete cipher. Ultimately it was not brutal or invigorating enough to be a great exploitation flick, or profound enough to be a great art film, and just ended up feeling a bit inconsequential to me. Maybe I’ll go back and reevaluate it one day, but to me it all felt rather pretentious, while saying very little. Having said that, Phoenix was predictably brilliant and the score was phenomenal.
What a film! So well done. Torturous performance. Coming fresh out of watching the Joker today then coming home and watching this. I actually thought this was a better film.
A brilliant, brutal film. It reminds me of the magnificent 1967 "Point Blank". Another fine review by Mark. It's a shame that the movie is not more widely distributed.
Takeshi Kitano already did this decades ago and to much greater effect. An action movie that de-emphasizes the violence, sweet! Yes, here for it. But in Takeshis movies, the violence is still somehow brutally impactful, even more so. That is artistry.
I love the Psycho-related jokes between Joe and his mother because, like the violence in that Hitchcock film, the violence in Ramsay's film is far more suggested than shown, tricking our imaginations into thinking there was a hit or a stab.
I finally managed to watch this. I really wanted to like it but I couldn’t quite get my head round how the lumbering, incoherent Joe was able to function in society, let alone be a effective killer. At one point he is swerving all over the road and all I could think was how the person behind would call the police and the film would be over. When he’s walking through the brothel and we’re watching him on camera, surely someone would be watching, otherwise what’s the point of the cctv? If Nina is supposed to be a daughter, when the father kills himself isn’t there a single member of her family or household who thought “I wonder if Nina is ok”. Great soundtrack though.
The only stuff I've watched from Ramsay was 'Kevin' and a short film called 'Swimmer'. I think what makes her films so special is that although I've watched only once I can remember all scenes from Kevin, they were so iconic and full of meaning they got stuck in my mind. She's amazing.
I love films which give the part to a single actor and allows that actor to truly perform. In this movie Joaquin really draws you in as a viewer and his performance is absorbing and addictive. It's a small story and it's very well played.
I have just watched the film very recently on my monitor. I have to admit that the film is so light on dialogue that I referred to the main character played by Joaquin Phoenix (JP) as himself. I would pause the film to think for a bit because of it's slow pacing and it's shots that encompass more than just Joaquin. I can definitely say that the film has a build up to satisfying and meaningful ending. I won't ruin it but I am glad that the portrait of this veteran which is spoken in so few words has great meaning and emphasis on male mental health. I repeatedly asked myself about the title. Why "You were never really here" specifically? Is it because it alludes to JP's sense of isolation? Does it hint at the conspirators of child prostitution erasing him off the face of the earth? Hence, removing his sense of agency over his life. It's an interesting question to ask. Plus, Is JP's character gay? His relationship with his mother is most excellent. I remember a TED talk from a father that his sons' homosexuality was like a building block of their family. He also mentions that it could be an inherently evolutionary gift to the family unit because it maintains cohesiveness. I think that JP could be gay because of the flashback from his day's as a veteran with the two soldiers slow dancing and the sauna scene where JP is washing his face. The big black guy behind him breathes heavily after moving away from him as JP sings and is relaxed. Possible dopamine fix after intercourse. Gay saunas are still a place for sexual adventures for individuals in the LGBT community. It's just what I am thinking and I am not making stereotypical assumptions like the fact that he possible never had a girlfriend for 20 years which is why his gay. I hope that my deduction does not infuriate anyone. About the review, Mark having watched the film several times is definitely something because I won't stand watching this film again. Not because of hate. It's just one of those film which if I watch again I would be dulled by because of familiarity despite the film intricate screenshots. I just can't. Mark's insight from those viewings are very insightful especially his opinion in the end about film belonging to everyone and film language with the best example being silent film. I liked that and it gave a bigger meaning out of it. The film maybe excruciatingly slow with a soundtrack that is momentous at times but it is definitely is worth viewing once because of the mystery and this JP's mental state. It was hard for me to relate to JP's suffering in the film. I felt it was weird because I saw it as a lack of empathy. I am not sure if others felt this because I have read some comments praising the film for touching them. It's weird. Personally, I think JP's mental state and mine were similar at one point in my life. I think I just never felt it because I couldn't relate to it anymore. On another point, I hope that people see the similarities between "You were never really here" and "Joker". This film was definitely the catalyst for Joker. It's cool to think about it.
Really liked this. I'm a huge fan of Lynne Ramsay. Brilliant visual storytelling and sound design. It flew buy....when it finished I was stunned; couldn't believe 90 minutes had gone by.......Made me think that she should've directed Only God Forgives [a film that's a similar length & not dialogue heavy but felt like 4 days] :)
this movie was phenomenal. it captured, so well, the internal noise of post-traumatic stress, disassociation from violence punctuated by the focus on the grisly aftermath, the venom of memory. there are so many parts of it that I think will stick to me for a long time. god, the way it just captures the...noise, the overwhelming hypervigilance. it's just fantastic. i can't think of a movie where i really felt the need to sit down through the entirety of the credits because i simply had to process the experience.
i think the bad part of this movie, is that it doesnt have a payoff per se, but its still emotionally engaging, this is worth seeing for that river scene alone
The film’s well directed, well written, stylish, thrilling, original & is well acted as leading actor Joaquin Phoenix delivers one of his best roles. (85%) (4/5 stars) (positive)
"You Were Never Really Here" is most certainly not your typical film. It's very Artsy, for sure. The question of the day: Is it worth watching? Give my review a view to find out! ruclips.net/video/NCqxvZyNmFM/видео.html
*Not a comment to read if you haven't seen the film* I often watch Kermode's reviews and read the comments after watching a film that interested me in an attempt to find a place for it, wherever that may be. I largely don't agree with Kermode and I believe that may be because he is a film critic. Although Kermode is a huge film fan, he appreciates art house films as a lover of visual metaphor storytelling much more than the average movie-lover does. I believe that this movie was excellently shot, scored and acted, although I feel a lot of the visual narrative is a little too student-y as another commenter rightly said. As such, we never really feel a connection with what we see. We are always a little too zoomed in, and yet detached from the action due to an over-reliance on style and visual metaphors and a tragic under-reliance on characters with real human emotional connections with each other. The closest we have to that is Joe and his elderly mother who is declining into dementia. Joe seems to try to connect with Nina but Nina is just too affected to connect and prob always will be, a lot like Joe. Art house Directors like Lynne Ramsey shoot films with visual metaphor storytelling as an art form but don't appreciate that art is generally cold, emotionless and disengaging and people watch films to emotionally engage and fall in love with characters and their emotional connections and emotional interactions with other characters as well as rooting for them as they overcome a series of dilemmas, like in the Zemeckis film Castaway, for instance, and exactly why that film is so popular. The scenes between Hanks and Hunt in the aforementioned film are just heart-rending. Heck, we even got way more engagement and emotional interaction between Tom Hanks and a volleyball in Castaway than we did from any of the characters in this film and so we can never truly engage with it. As there was too little of what makes a great film experience here, this is a film for the critics and not a film I can recommend to the average movie-lover.
Andy Parker i dont agree with your assessment that art is typically cold. The very metaphor heavy art that i see you making connections to is largely about transforming really affecting thoughts or experiences into something beautiful and shareable. I’d argue the same here that this film is, at its core, not just about ideas but about Joe. The film is filled with wonderful little human moments and id argue that joaquin’s performance alone is filled with enough subtlty and honesty to be incredibly empathetic. definitely not a blockbuster film, it’s short, sad, and not very dialogue heavy, but i think the connection i and other fans of the film have is first and foremost a deep aching for the protagonist.
I liked the movie and I plan to see it again. I have to admit I didn't get certain things. Why his mother and his contact (and his son) are killed? I didn't quite get it. I suppose he was exposed in some way, just not sure. A very good movie though, I think I got the main points - which concern the main character. I'd just like to completely understand the film.
Got around to seeing it tonight but had forgotten this review so after re-listening to it when I got home I was acutely embarrassed that I’d said to the staff member on my way out of the cinema ‘That was a WOW’. Doubtless she’s thought ‘....another chump who hasn’t an opinion of their own!’
No doubt about it. His performance in the film was raw, magnetic and intense. At times i almost wanted to look away. This review has made me want to re-watch the movie to appreciate it even more.
This is why Phoenix has been widely hailed by the trades as a genius for abruptly walking off Todd Haynes's movie. Despite the ruinous financial implications.
Very atmospheric and brooding and I get what Mark is saying about all the turmoil etc But as for the storytelling, what??? it does neither show or tell in terms of where the story was going. If this were directed by someone other than Lynn Ramsay I'm sure the review would have been much less praiseworthy, I can't imagine hims saying 'Michael Bay isn't really interested in the plot' in a positive manner...
Great review, can't believe I haven't seen this guy before. Thanks Mr. Kermode. I'll be honest, I watched the movie at 11 pm at night with a cold and I found it very intense to watch. I really enjoyed it and immediately recognized it as something special but it was not a popcorn movie that's for sure.
I always feel that these interviews are let down by the host opposite Kermode. I'm sure he's a great guy and a great host and I get he's trying to be the voice of the audience - but to say "does that run the risk then of speaking less to people and more to critics?". Look at American History X, very underplayed in the dialogue but SO heavy & emotional in its execution. I'm 30 and I don't have a single friend from 10 years older to 10 years younger who doesn't light up when that film is mentioned.
It felt like a big student film - full of experimental twaddle and empty dialogue. The characters were going through many emotions, but the audience were going through virtually none of them. Retrospectively, I quite liked it, but Kermode calling this real cinema is pure nonsense. Was more like a 90 minute music video.
"But the audience were going through virtually none of them" funny you say that statement even though the film is critically acclaimed and many viewers, including Mark and myself did have emotional reactions to the film. So that statement is inherently incorrect. As for calling it real cinema, how is that nonsense? It is a film that perfectly utilizes the medium of film to tell it's story or the story of its characters in ways that other mediums would not be able to do as effectively. And i'd go further to argue many music videos are 100x more cinematic and visually innovative/creative than many films that are released. Just because you have different views on what cinema should be. that's twaddle right there.
Joaquin Phoenix is likely the greatest actor working today and Lynne is more often than not pretty excellent. However, I have to say that Phoenix walking around with a hammer looks silly and the digital cinematography is off-putting.
Backyard Pix It really isn't, it depends very much on the filmmaker. Fincher can successfully hide it, as did Allen (or Storaro) with WW, but most smaller films struggle with it. I understand if it doesn't bug anyone else, but it seriously affects my enjoyment.
Henry G I thought that with his character in the master, constantly hunched over with a pointy face like a pirate. His performance worked for me in the end in that it just took a while.
If you display something on digital that was filmed on film, then it will look like something that was filmed on digital that is being displayed on digital -- as long as there is any attention to detail in the cinematography at all. If something is displayed on film, then nothing on digital will actually look quite like it because they have pixels and it's just not the same look to our eyes.
There's far more good than bad in it and when it actually deals with the plot it's pretty amazing, but some of the more meandering scenes of Joaquin staring off into space feel like they're actively trying to test your patience
I dont know if u realized or not but joe is gay his flashback shows him dancing with one of his friend's I asume and then he grabs the men that is dying in his kitchen I dont know if im right or not but I realy cant make sense if it is right
Surely to God, Simon Mayo must - simply must - have, at the very least, the tiniest remnants of something resembling a human personality somewhere in that hollowed out carcass of an exterior.
The performances were great but apart from that I thought the movie was self-indulgent rubbish. Characters behave inexplicably at random parts of the story, dragging the pacing down. The much touted CCTV scenes really bugged me, who has 4K CCTV installed? And every critic mentions the fact you don’t see any violence, you just think you did. No, I never thought that. I just thought, where’s the violence? Why did she cut away? Where’s the payback to all this buildup? Why is she showing two people who were just trying to kill each other lying on the floor and holding hands? After it was all over I couldn’t help but think that this was a wasted opportunity. I know a lot of people like this film, but this one wasn’t for me.
I think they were holding hands because the henchman knew he was dying, Joe was tired and needed to rest, as the song was playing, both men started humming to it, and throughout all the violence, they could still come together during those final moments. The phrase is, who wants to die alone.
Tom Tornari it was a large security system in sure the cameras are decent , honestly though I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed it as much if they showed every single pill, this really showed you Joe’s state of mind and helped build a character arc and one of the most impressive films I’ve seen this year, there were parts of it that I was very upset with, butWhen the score and everything are in perfect harmony what a film
Don The Movie Reviewer maybe I’m off-base. Here’s what I thought: During the kitchen scene, the camera would focus on the American flag on the henchmen’s blazer. I think Phoenix reached out and grabbed his hand, because at the end of the day, even though his mom was murdered by the henchman, he also understood the henchman. He understood that, like Phoenix when he was in the military, he was a man that was “just doing his job”. A job that forced him to commit evil. They were both soldiers in their own way; carrying out the evil intent of their “commanding officers”. While it didn’t stop Phoenix from killing the henchman, he saw him more as a vessel for evil; not the evil itself.
I love how enthusiastic Mark is about this film. After I saw it I felt like having a party for it. It wasn't just a film, it was an experience.
If I knew you were coming, I'd have baked a cake.
Went into this not knowing anything other than Joaquin Phoenix was in it. I was floored by it on all levels. It's a masterpiece and Joaquin is a force of nature once again. Going to watch it and the Master again very soon
Same here. I was scanning netflix for something I've not seen and saw Phoenix and instantly clicked play. I too was floored, more shocked by the content because I didn't even bother watching the trailer for it. That's how much I love his acting.
The Master really is an incredible feat. PSH provides the perfect balance.
O
This movie was haunting and incredible
My Top 5
It’s an astonishing film, and Phoenix is legendary in it.
After seeing this film it made Joker trailer even more exciting.
I just got home from a screening. And "Wow" was my reaction afterwards too. Excellent stuff. And JOnny Greenwood's score is amazing.
'You Were Never Really Here' is an absolute masterpiece though. He missed talking about the near-constant softness and tenderness of the film and of Joe - which is so beautifully done because it's found among such savagely stark & naked violence. The moment they immediately springs to mind is when Joe lays down next to guy who probably killed his mother and then holds his hand as he dies. And when he first gives him the oxycotin you think (and want) it to be to keep him alive so Joe can torture him for information and revenge for his mother; but it unfolds (without being said) that it was a genuine act of mercy.
To be honest my experience of violence as someone who was a drug addict for about half of my life at this point (31) made seeing this film last night really speak to me & resolve something inside me that hadn't been before.
It's such as beautiful exploration of the nature of trauma, the chaos & the peacefulness of violence, how really extreme violence changes you and it's set in that place you reach where you're just done with it all and can't take any of it anymore but you don't have the option to stop because you're so deep in that world that if you give up you're probably going to die.
It feels like this film doesn't have heroes only victims who are suffering and that's a world I've lived in.
This film really touched me so much. I imagine for servicemen there's a whole over layer to it too. But what an absolute masterpiece. I love film but I haven't had a true cinema experience like this in a long long time.
Have been waiting for at least 6 months for this. Having to drive for an hour to the nearest cinema showing it but suspect it will be well worth it
Best film of 2018 so far. Just saw it at Harbour Lights in Southampton. Have been anticipating the next Ramsay since We Need to Talk About Kevin and this is similarly haunting, emotional and decisive filmmaking. Phoenix delivers one of his very best performances, and Greenwood one of his best scores to date. Absolutely brutal and beautifully subtle. A must-see.
Harbour Lights at Southampton is one of the best cinemas around - not visited in over 2 years.. but. Yep. Great cinema.
Lyn Ramsy should direct Blood Meridian.
How beautifully articulated and what a perfect interpretation of this most artistic piece.
1:18 As I was watching, expecting there to be footage to go along with the audio, I didn’t immediately realise it was just a frozen image of Joaquin Phoenix! I was thinking: "Wow! He’s keeping _REALLY_ still!" But as the clip went on - & I _CONTINUED_ to stare at my iPad screen, even though I *NOW* knew it *WASN’T* a video - he’s such a phenomenal actor, I *SWEAR* that it looks as though *HE DOES ACTUALLY MOVE* [or _"MORPH"!]_ for a fraction of a second, every now & then!
...However, in all honesty, I must confess that I’m currently _MASSIVELY_ sleep deprived [43 hrs+ & counting 😬], so it’s *ENTIRELY* possible that I’m just hallucinating at this point! Anyway, *GREAT FILM, EVEN BETTER PERFORMANCE!!!*
XD. I hope that you slept well. I liked to listen the review instead of watching them. It's nicer that way honestly.
Simon seems so interested as always 😂
It's an amazing film with nods to Taxi Driver and Psycho
Phonenix is Amazing and Lynne Ramsay is a true Auteur
Fantastic review. I came across so many reviews that didn’t get it, but i understood every visceral moment. Every detail about the film is A+
Never watched a review from Mark that made me die that much to see a movie
This was one of the greatest films ive ever seen
same
I liked the film, but I just thought that there was not enough of it. When it ended, I went: what!? that felt like one hour.
Less is more ;)
Also, the 2013 novella is 97 pages long.
Nothing wrong with an hour and half most films are way too long
Read the book if you want more
I agree. I expected more!
*Hammer time!* 🔨
A great film. Depressing as hell.
what we all wished for Epstein
If Lynne Ramsay was a male filmmaker she would definitely be the type of director filmbros go crazy for. She's too skilled and too talented for how little acclaimed she is.
I’m a huge fan but she’s only had 3 movies so far … and it’s not like she’s pulling an aster or eggars. Very personal films tho and love the way they’re shot
@@MC_1993 So far her films have been 10's with me. Eggers goofy Viking movie was a dud. That terrible green screen didn't help things either.
@@MC_1993wdym by an Aster or Eggars? They all have 3 films I know that but my brain can’t make any other connection lol
I watched it last night. It's amazing I loved the 'distance' aspect with the violence. You didn't see much but it hit you just as hard in a more profound way for it. I did just about follow what was going on but had to re - watch a few key dialogue scenes afterwards with the subs on to catch the actual words - when people do speak, they mumble. Surprised how much of it I got the first time without actually catching the dialogue though. It's so well done, you hardly need any at all to propel the story.
I watched this and Joker back2back and this is infinitely better. Goes to show the difference between a good and great movie is director.
just came back from this. exhilarating. had to catch my breath few times during.
I have never seen a more accurate depiction of trauma in any media
Its now on netflix people, WATCH IT!!!
Matthew Kelly Rewatching this review having watched the film is something I should do more and more as they definitely enhance the experience
@@Tbass17 definitely something I love doing.
It’s not I didn’t find it there!
The answer to the final question is yes. I agree with 95% of this and i love this film and Lynne Ramsay's work but i totally get why some people can't take to this film
Saw it last night & its easily the best film ive watched this year. Incredibly emotional experience, still thinking about it now.
Brilliant review! My thoughts exactly.
Just came back from seeing this. Have to say, I was pretty underwhelmed. The only other Lynne Ramsay film I’ve seen is We Need To Talk About Kevin, and while there were things in that film that I admired, it didn’t really do it for me either. I thought You Were Never Really Here looked more promising, but all of the problems I had with Kevin were present here: too many languorous shots of people staring silently at each, and very little in the way of momentum. I don’t care what Mark says; when it comes to characterisation, silent brooding is not a substitute for good dialogue.
Bar a few sequences, I didn’t actually find it be necessarily all that cinematic either. The nightmarish urban cityscape thing was evoked with far more visual panache in something like Drive, and some of Ramsay’s symbolism is pretty basic and heavy-handed (hey, look at that, some red food looks a bit like blood!)
I found it very chilly overall, and by the end, kind of dreary to be honest. There was nothing really to latch on to or care about. The relationship between Joe and the girl had none of the pathos of Travis and Iris’s relationship in Taxi Driver, or the heart of Leon and Mathilda’s in Leon, because the girl was just a complete cipher.
Ultimately it was not brutal or invigorating enough to be a great exploitation flick, or profound enough to be a great art film, and just ended up feeling a bit inconsequential to me. Maybe I’ll go back and reevaluate it one day, but to me it all felt rather pretentious, while saying very little.
Having said that, Phoenix was predictably brilliant and the score was phenomenal.
I agree 100%
Ellis & Rose I totally agree with you.
Excellent review right there
hear hear
Couldn't agree more, felt like I watched half a movie.
What a film! So well done. Torturous performance.
Coming fresh out of watching the Joker today then coming home and watching this. I actually thought this was a better film.
Im glad this movie shed light on something that really is happening and really is horrifying.
A brilliant, brutal film.
It reminds me of the magnificent 1967 "Point Blank".
Another fine review by Mark. It's a shame that the movie is
not more widely distributed.
Takeshi Kitano already did this decades ago and to much greater effect. An action movie that de-emphasizes the violence, sweet! Yes, here for it. But in Takeshis movies, the violence is still somehow brutally impactful, even more so. That is artistry.
I love the Psycho-related jokes between Joe and his mother because, like the violence in that Hitchcock film, the violence in Ramsay's film is far more suggested than shown, tricking our imaginations into thinking there was a hit or a stab.
I finally managed to watch this. I really wanted to like it but I couldn’t quite get my head round how the lumbering, incoherent Joe was able to function in society, let alone be a effective killer. At one point he is swerving all over the road and all I could think was how the person behind would call the police and the film would be over. When he’s walking through the brothel and we’re watching him on camera, surely someone would be watching, otherwise what’s the point of the cctv? If Nina is supposed to be a daughter, when the father kills himself isn’t there a single member of her family or household who thought “I wonder if Nina is ok”. Great soundtrack though.
The only stuff I've watched from Ramsay was 'Kevin' and a short film called 'Swimmer'. I think what makes her films so special is that although I've watched only once I can remember all scenes from Kevin, they were so iconic and full of meaning they got stuck in my mind. She's amazing.
I love films which give the part to a single actor and allows that actor to truly perform. In this movie Joaquin really draws you in as a viewer and his performance is absorbing and addictive. It's a small story and it's very well played.
FANTASTIC review. Thank you!
I have just watched the film very recently on my monitor. I have to admit that the film is so light on dialogue that I referred to the main character played by Joaquin Phoenix (JP) as himself. I would pause the film to think for a bit because of it's slow pacing and it's shots that encompass more than just Joaquin. I can definitely say that the film has a build up to satisfying and meaningful ending. I won't ruin it but I am glad that the portrait of this veteran which is spoken in so few words has great meaning and emphasis on male mental health. I repeatedly asked myself about the title. Why "You were never really here" specifically? Is it because it alludes to JP's sense of isolation? Does it hint at the conspirators of child prostitution erasing him off the face of the earth? Hence, removing his sense of agency over his life. It's an interesting question to ask. Plus, Is JP's character gay? His relationship with his mother is most excellent. I remember a TED talk from a father that his sons' homosexuality was like a building block of their family. He also mentions that it could be an inherently evolutionary gift to the family unit because it maintains cohesiveness. I think that JP could be gay because of the flashback from his day's as a veteran with the two soldiers slow dancing and the sauna scene where JP is washing his face. The big black guy behind him breathes heavily after moving away from him as JP sings and is relaxed. Possible dopamine fix after intercourse. Gay saunas are still a place for sexual adventures for individuals in the LGBT community. It's just what I am thinking and I am not making stereotypical assumptions like the fact that he possible never had a girlfriend for 20 years which is why his gay. I hope that my deduction does not infuriate anyone.
About the review, Mark having watched the film several times is definitely something because I won't stand watching this film again. Not because of hate. It's just one of those film which if I watch again I would be dulled by because of familiarity despite the film intricate screenshots. I just can't. Mark's insight from those viewings are very insightful especially his opinion in the end about film belonging to everyone and film language with the best example being silent film. I liked that and it gave a bigger meaning out of it.
The film maybe excruciatingly slow with a soundtrack that is momentous at times but it is definitely is worth viewing once because of the mystery and this JP's mental state. It was hard for me to relate to JP's suffering in the film. I felt it was weird because I saw it as a lack of empathy. I am not sure if others felt this because I have read some comments praising the film for touching them. It's weird. Personally, I think JP's mental state and mine were similar at one point in my life. I think I just never felt it because I couldn't relate to it anymore. On another point, I hope that people see the similarities between "You were never really here" and "Joker". This film was definitely the catalyst for Joker. It's cool to think about it.
The book and the film are about PTSD, Mark gets it
Amazing review, incredibly insightful words
Wanted to go see this. Not being screened anywhere remotely near me. Great
Really liked this. I'm a huge fan of Lynne Ramsay. Brilliant visual storytelling and sound design.
It flew buy....when it finished I was stunned; couldn't believe 90 minutes had gone by.......Made me think that she should've directed Only God Forgives [a film that's a similar length & not dialogue heavy but felt like 4 days]
:)
Sounds intriguing, and I like Whack-in Pheonix.
We are in Charleston SC not a big market and don't know if we will get it. We got Layer Cake for only 2 weeks. I hope we get it.
this movie was phenomenal. it captured, so well, the internal noise of post-traumatic stress, disassociation from violence punctuated by the focus on the grisly aftermath, the venom of memory. there are so many parts of it that I think will stick to me for a long time. god, the way it just captures the...noise, the overwhelming hypervigilance. it's just fantastic. i can't think of a movie where i really felt the need to sit down through the entirety of the credits because i simply had to process the experience.
This review echos my feelings about this film !
I can wait to see this.
Ramsey is a genius of cinema, every film is astonishingly brilliant.
i think the bad part of this movie, is that it doesnt have a payoff per se, but its still emotionally engaging, this is worth seeing for that river scene alone
I can see why someone called it The Taxi Driver of our generation.
This movie really makes excellent use of it's short & sweet run-time. The film's vague opaqueness lends itself to high rewatch-ability.
The film’s well directed, well written, stylish, thrilling, original & is well acted as leading actor Joaquin Phoenix delivers one of his best roles. (85%) (4/5 stars) (positive)
"You Were Never Really Here" is most certainly not your typical film. It's very Artsy, for sure. The question of the day: Is it worth watching? Give my review a view to find out!
ruclips.net/video/NCqxvZyNmFM/видео.html
Can someone PLEASE explain to me the plot after Joe rescues the girl from the apartment complex
*Not a comment to read if you haven't seen the film*
I often watch Kermode's reviews and read the comments after watching a film that interested me in an attempt to find a place for it, wherever that may be. I largely don't agree with Kermode and I believe that may be because he is a film critic. Although Kermode is a huge film fan, he appreciates art house films as a lover of visual metaphor storytelling much more than the average movie-lover does. I believe that this movie was excellently shot, scored and acted, although I feel a lot of the visual narrative is a little too student-y as another commenter rightly said. As such, we never really feel a connection with what we see. We are always a little too zoomed in, and yet detached from the action due to an over-reliance on style and visual metaphors and a tragic under-reliance on characters with real human emotional connections with each other. The closest we have to that is Joe and his elderly mother who is declining into dementia. Joe seems to try to connect with Nina but Nina is just too affected to connect and prob always will be, a lot like Joe. Art house Directors like Lynne Ramsey shoot films with visual metaphor storytelling as an art form but don't appreciate that art is generally cold, emotionless and disengaging and people watch films to emotionally engage and fall in love with characters and their emotional connections and emotional interactions with other characters as well as rooting for them as they overcome a series of dilemmas, like in the Zemeckis film Castaway, for instance, and exactly why that film is so popular. The scenes between Hanks and Hunt in the aforementioned film are just heart-rending. Heck, we even got way more engagement and emotional interaction between Tom Hanks and a volleyball in Castaway than we did from any of the characters in this film and so we can never truly engage with it. As there was too little of what makes a great film experience here, this is a film for the critics and not a film I can recommend to the average movie-lover.
Andy Parker i dont agree with your assessment that art is typically cold. The very metaphor heavy art that i see you making connections to is largely about transforming really affecting thoughts or experiences into something beautiful and shareable. I’d argue the same here that this film is, at its core, not just about ideas but about Joe. The film is filled with wonderful little human moments and id argue that joaquin’s performance alone is filled with enough subtlty and honesty to be incredibly empathetic. definitely not a blockbuster film, it’s short, sad, and not very dialogue heavy, but i think the connection i and other fans of the film have is first and foremost a deep aching for the protagonist.
Mwah! This film was pure mwah! Loved it, seeing it again soon
When will we get the Kermode awards ?
Very well said. Can’t wait to see it !
I liked this film a lot, reminds me a little of Jim Jarmuschs' Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.
EO both films were heavily inspired by the french film Le Samourai
incredible masterpiece .
I liked the movie and I plan to see it again. I have to admit I didn't get certain things. Why his mother and his contact (and his son) are killed? I didn't quite get it. I suppose he was exposed in some way, just not sure. A very good movie though, I think I got the main points - which concern the main character. I'd just like to completely understand the film.
Ahh, mr. Kermode, you really made me smile there 😉
"it is a film, that is a film!"
"well what does that mean?"
He explains it . . .
Great review, similar views to us on the review we did, keep up the great work.
Got around to seeing it tonight but had forgotten this review so after re-listening to it when I got home I was acutely embarrassed that I’d said to the staff member on my way out of the cinema ‘That was a WOW’. Doubtless she’s thought ‘....another chump who hasn’t an opinion of their own!’
Glad I got to see it on Netflix
Superb film. Joaquin is one of the greatest actors actors working today.
No doubt about it. His performance in the film was raw, magnetic and intense. At times i almost wanted to look away. This review has made me want to re-watch the movie to appreciate it even more.
I like to watch a review or two of a movie while its end credits roll. This one lasted exactly as long as this movie's end credits. Perfect. 👍
I hope you don't do that in the cinema??! Code violation right there!!!
Doesn't seem to be showing in NI will have to wait for alternative viewing methods
Max Lewis near sure they are showing it in the Queens film theatre buddy
The movie is genius. Ramsay's best film.
This is why Phoenix has been widely hailed by the trades as a genius for abruptly walking off Todd Haynes's movie. Despite the ruinous financial implications.
Very atmospheric and brooding and I get what Mark is saying about all the turmoil etc But as for the storytelling, what??? it does neither show or tell in terms of where the story was going. If this were directed by someone other than Lynn Ramsay I'm sure the review would have been much less praiseworthy, I can't imagine hims saying 'Michael Bay isn't really interested in the plot' in a positive manner...
Looks good, I may watch it.
So excited!
"Cinema in its purest form speaks to everybody"
Genius...just Genius!👌
And this is why he is incredible in Joker
Simon is brilliant. Whenever Mark comes up with some elaborate wordy waffly sentence Simon says stuff like "what does that even mean"
Cptsd (complex post traumatic stress disorder) is what he has search it up it'll make more sense
It is a film, which is a film. I agree.
Great review, can't believe I haven't seen this guy before. Thanks Mr. Kermode. I'll be honest, I watched the movie at 11 pm at night with a cold and I found it very intense to watch. I really enjoyed it and immediately recognized it as something special but it was not a popcorn movie that's for sure.
marks reviews are bloody brilliant!
I always feel that these interviews are let down by the host opposite Kermode. I'm sure he's a great guy and a great host and I get he's trying to be the voice of the audience - but to say "does that run the risk then of speaking less to people and more to critics?".
Look at American History X, very underplayed in the dialogue but SO heavy & emotional in its execution. I'm 30 and I don't have a single friend from 10 years older to 10 years younger who doesn't light up when that film is mentioned.
The score and cinematography can be perfect but at some point there has to be an interesting story
everyone here is a professional critic!
It felt like a big student film - full of experimental twaddle and empty dialogue. The characters were going through many emotions, but the audience were going through virtually none of them. Retrospectively, I quite liked it, but Kermode calling this real cinema is pure nonsense. Was more like a 90 minute music video.
lol, i disagree
"Experimental twaddle and empty dialogue". Spot on :-)
"But the audience were going through virtually none of them" funny you say that statement even though the film is critically acclaimed and many viewers, including Mark and myself did have emotional reactions to the film. So that statement is inherently incorrect. As for calling it real cinema, how is that nonsense? It is a film that perfectly utilizes the medium of film to tell it's story or the story of its characters in ways that other mediums would not be able to do as effectively. And i'd go further to argue many music videos are 100x more cinematic and visually innovative/creative than many films that are released. Just because you have different views on what cinema should be. that's twaddle right there.
Shut up
Yeh men its a boring movie
Mark Kermode doesn't know the name of the film that's being projected in Shawshank. No it's not called Rita Hayworth Mark.
This was a great movie, joaquin basically stole the movie with his performance.
I mean it was his movie so didn't really steal it lol
This film is mesmerising as is Joaquin Phoenix 💯🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
one to watch again and again
Joaquin Phoenix is likely the greatest actor working today and Lynne is more often than not pretty excellent. However, I have to say that Phoenix walking around with a hammer looks silly and the digital cinematography is off-putting.
Backyard Pix It really isn't, it depends very much on the filmmaker. Fincher can successfully hide it, as did Allen (or Storaro) with WW, but most smaller films struggle with it. I understand if it doesn't bug anyone else, but it seriously affects my enjoyment.
Henry G I thought that with his character in the master, constantly hunched over with a pointy face like a pirate. His performance worked for me in the end in that it just took a while.
If you display something on digital that was filmed on film, then it will look like something that was filmed on digital that is being displayed on digital -- as long as there is any attention to detail in the cinematography at all. If something is displayed on film, then nothing on digital will actually look quite like it because they have pixels and it's just not the same look to our eyes.
There's far more good than bad in it and when it actually deals with the plot it's pretty amazing, but some of the more meandering scenes of Joaquin staring off into space feel like they're actively trying to test your patience
Why words don't come easy
Back story of gone girl
I dont know if u realized or not but joe is gay his flashback shows him dancing with one of his friend's I asume and then he grabs the men that is dying in his kitchen I dont know if im right or not but I realy cant make sense if it is right
Surely to God, Simon Mayo must - simply must - have, at the very least, the tiniest remnants of something resembling a human personality somewhere in that hollowed out carcass of an exterior.
I wanted to like this movie but dam it was boring and disappointing.
The performances were great but apart from that I thought the movie was self-indulgent rubbish. Characters behave inexplicably at random parts of the story, dragging the pacing down. The much touted CCTV scenes really bugged me, who has 4K CCTV installed? And every critic mentions the fact you don’t see any violence, you just think you did. No, I never thought that. I just thought, where’s the violence? Why did she cut away? Where’s the payback to all this buildup? Why is she showing two people who were just trying to kill each other lying on the floor and holding hands? After it was all over I couldn’t help but think that this was a wasted opportunity. I know a lot of people like this film, but this one wasn’t for me.
I think they were holding hands because the henchman knew he was dying, Joe was tired and needed to rest, as the song was playing, both men started humming to it, and throughout all the violence, they could still come together during those final moments. The phrase is, who wants to die alone.
This comment is “self-indulgent rubbish.”
Tom Tornari it was a large security system in sure the cameras are decent , honestly though I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed it as much if they showed every single pill, this really showed you Joe’s state of mind and helped build a character arc and one of the most impressive films I’ve seen this year, there were parts of it that I was very upset with, butWhen the score and everything are in perfect harmony what a film
Don The Movie Reviewer maybe I’m off-base. Here’s what I thought:
During the kitchen scene, the camera would focus on the American flag on the henchmen’s blazer.
I think Phoenix reached out and grabbed his hand, because at the end of the day, even though his mom was murdered by the henchman, he also understood the henchman.
He understood that, like Phoenix when he was in the military, he was a man that was “just doing his job”. A job that forced him to commit evil. They were both soldiers in their own way; carrying out the evil intent of their “commanding officers”.
While it didn’t stop Phoenix from killing the henchman, he saw him more as a vessel for evil; not the evil itself.
I was entralled 98%
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