Killer Joe (2011)

Plot: Based on an off-Broadway play, a Dallas Hitman helps a Trailer park family kill their mother for the insurance money
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Juno Temple, Emile Hirsch

Sometimes disgusting, sometimes darkly funny, sometimes chilling, and sometimes dull, Killer Joe is always well acted. Particularly by McConaughey. In fact, he's the only reason to see the movie. There are some clever lines, but basically its a low budget, filmed play, with some silly fight scenes and ketchup violence.

Frankly, its hard to rate. I'm full of admiration for the well-cast actors, and the last 30 minutes or so held me spellbound. But the first 20 minutes, before "Killer Joe" talks about killing the mother aren't particularly interesting, and the "romance" scenes between "Killer Joe" and Dottie are equally dull. Even at 106 minutes the movie is far too long. There's no point in discussing the score or the Direction because its a filmed play.

Reading the reviews, the "sophisticated" MSM reviewers seem to like it, while many average reviewers regard the movie as "garbage" or "brutal and ugly" . The problem is its hard to tell what the movie was going for. If they were trying to make a black comedy "cartoon" with a family so horrible, we laugh at them, they failed. We do laugh at one hapless character because he's so completely cucked and dumb. But the other three family members aren't particularly funny. And the realistic gore and violence completely negates the comedy.

And 3 other factors reduced my enjoyment. The first was the depressing, downscale, "Trailer Trash" atmosphere. The second was the realization that only white texans/southerners can be portrayed this way. No Hollywood Film exec would allow people of color or Jews to be made such trashy degenerates. Even in jest.

And the third was unneccesssary sexual vulgarity and blood splattering violence. Of course, its Williams Friedkin, so I wasn't surprised.

Summary: I doubt I'll watch again, but I can't say I disliked the movie. Its incredibly uneven. There's a good movie in the material, but it needed someone with more taste and more talent at the helm