Originally published on WeChat Official Account: Watching Movies and Seeing Death
"You've Never Been Here" brings together almost all the elements of an iron-blooded tender killer genre: a middle-aged killer with a dark past, a weak subject to protect, a dark and powerful opponent group, and Lots and lots of deaths. The plot setting of this film has no suspense or so many reversals. Simply put, it is like a combination of "Taxi Driver" and "Hurricane Rescue". But it unexpectedly dismantles and reshapes the elements of genre films in 90 minutes, and expands the artistic functions of audio and visuals infinitely.
At the very beginning of the film, the burning photos and the Bible, the blood-soaked hammer, the necklace with the name written on it, a call to answer the mission completion, and a series of concise and clean close-ups point out the male protagonist's identity as a hired killer. Then, in Joe's abnormal behavior and flashing memories, the actor's past and present are gradually complete like a puzzle: Joe has a violent father, and he experienced his father's abuse of him and his mother several times in childhood; He used to be a soldier and witnessed the fragility of young lives on the battlefield; now he is a killer, still living with his mother, and he is constantly trying to commit suicide to get rid of mental torture.
Joe's next mission is to rescue the MP's 13-year-old daughter, who was unfortunately sold as a child prostitute. However, this special mission dragged Joe into a bigger conspiracy. While he was competing with the enemy, he had to fight to the death with his inner demon.
The unusualness of this film lies in its anti-genre treatment: violence does not see direct killing, and the coldness exposes the weakness of the heart. In fact, the hearty runaway I had been looking forward to several times did not happen, just like a balloon that was about to burst, just when you thought it was about to burst in the next moment, it was silent in an unexpected way. The ground let out a little bit of air.
When Joe took down the two murderers of his favorite mother with two clean shots, he didn't vent his anger and immediately killed one of the surviving ones, but gave him a painkiller, and he Lying side by side on the cold floor, clasped his hands, and played Charlene's I've never been to me to the music. This spooky romance is unforgettable, reminding me of another to highlight the audiovisual The famous director Nicholas Winding Refn's "Sunset Chariot", in the backlight, the high commander gently sideways and left the blood behind him, the scene has a similar charm.
Joe sank into the water with his mother's body, but he saw the meaning of life at the moment of death. After the rebirth, Joe rushed to the mayor's mansion with the last conviction. I thought what happened next It would be a happy revenge, putting a slightly tragic exclamation mark on the life of this lone hero, however, it still did not happen. Joe looked at the mayor who had fallen in a pool of blood, and his last faith was broken. He burst into tears. He thought he could use his scarred life to open a protective umbrella for the weak girl. However, he found that in fact he could not save anything, whether it was the injured girl or the injured himself.
Most of the time this film uses its oppressive cool colors, whether it is a killer wandering like a ghost of death in the night, or a helpless boy hiding in a wardrobe to experience the taste of suffocation, the infinitely enlarged facial features are clearly visible. Smell's cramped breathing, the spread of despair never stops. The only two bright tones in the film appear for the first time in the middle of the film. Joe brings his mother's body to a beautiful lake. He wears a formal suit and hugs his mother into the lake. The trees are lined with trees. The lake is curling, perhaps for Joe, it is also a very bright ending to end this life full of sin and pain. The second time appears at the end of the film. Joe and the girl are sitting in the restaurant safely. The girl has a smile on her immature face and says, It's a beautiful day. The cheerful music sounded, but it made our hearts rise with infinite bitterness. What will their next life be like? I am afraid that these terrifying pasts will continue to haunt their futures, and no hope is the greatest hope.
Sound is an extremely important part of this film. The excellent mixing has even been involved in the narrative, and you can feel the inner feelings of the hero, his tension, his pain, his vulnerability, through the rapidity and ease of the background music. The constant insertion of unbearable memories, accompanied by the prominence and sudden stop of the voice, renders Joe's rage and anxiety born from the source of the past. The girl's murmuring is more like a magic spell that lingers around, the tragedy of Joe's life will not stop, and for the little girl who was hit hard, the tragedy of her life has just begun.
"You've Never Been Here" won two awards for Best Screenplay and Best Actor at last year's Cannes Film Festival. Joaquin Phoenix's interpretation of the actor Joe is undoubtedly one of the biggest highlights of the film. The oppressive atmosphere of this film runs through from beginning to end, and Joe mostly suppresses his arrogance in silence. As mentioned before, there are many extremely delicate close-up shots in this film, which continuously expand the inner emotions of the male protagonist by focusing on the facial features. His messy hair, his terrified eyes, his trembling lips, Joaquin Phoenix successfully used these shots to show the subtle and strong emotional changes of the hero on the screen, making Joe's character dark, sensitive and yet The extremely fragile side is shaped with finesse and precision.
"You've Never Been Here" is a good film with an eye-catching audio-visual style and a rare and calm plot. Although the director Lynne Ramsay from Scotland is not very prolific, she has managed to highlight the style of each film and not disappoint the audience. If you are looking forward to a film that combines brutal violence and literary poetry, you must not miss "You were never here".
View more about You Were Never Really Here reviews
