Joe

Indiewire

Soon after watching Mud for the first time, I read online that the film's young star, Tye Sheridan, had starred in another southern drama, this time with Nicolas Cage. I soon began checking on the film's status to see when it would reach a wide release. Seven months later, I finally can say that I've seen Joe, but sadly, I didn't get all I was hoping for.

In the movie, the title character (Nicolas Cage) is an ex-con trying to make an honest living by managing a forrest clean-up service. He employs a squad of locals and is asked by 15-year-old Gary (Sheridan) for a job for him and his father. Joe hires the teen and is quickly impressed with his work ethic and good attitude. His father, on the other hand, spends his time on the job smoking and slacking off, causing Joe to fire the both of them.

When Gary goes to Joe's home later that night to beg for a second chance, Joe sympathizes for the boy and gives him a second chance. Joe discovers that Gary's family is homeless and squats in a condemned, beaten-up house. Gary basically serves as a buffer between his abusive alcoholic father and his mother and younger sister.

Joe shows Gary how to drive (with a beer in hand, of course) and helps his family get by, giving them extra food and money. Gary and Joe start spending more and more time together, and the best parts of the movie are when they are together. Although his performance in Joe doesn't compare to his work in Mud, I give props to Tye Sheridan for continuing to hold his own alongside veteran actors like Cage and McConaughey. If he can emerge from being typecast in southern dramas for the rest of his career, we'll see him in bigger and better places than where he's already been. Nicolas Cage, known more recently for his roles in critically unimpressive mainstream movies, amazes in a fully immersive performance. He was Joe's biggest asset.

While the performances don't disappoint, the film could've succeeded more as a whole if it had better pacing and more of an idea of what it wanted to do. Sporadic scenes show prolonged and awkward breakdancing showcases. Misleading music causes us to think something important is about to happen when all that occurs is Joe going to his house to get his dog.

And while Joe's fictional universe contains about a dozen characters, we really are only exposed to five - Joe, Gary, Gary's dad, Joe's sort-of girlfriend, and a loser who went through a windshield at 4:00 am. How are we supposed to feel bad for Gary's mother if we don't see more of what goes on in their home? And how can we feel the sense of urgency we should be feeling when Gary's father tries to sell his daughter to a deviant when we don't know anything about the daughter except for the fact that she doesn't talk?

Gary's father - while an interesting character - was written in a way that assumed viewers understood his backstory. We don't. So when he hits his son mercilessly, yeah, we understand he's a low-life drunk. But when he kills a homeless man with a wrench, shouldn't we get a motive? Did he kill him for his alcohol? His money? Is he just a sociopath?

The ending scene features a showdown between Joe, Gary's father, and the aforementioned loser. During this scene, tension lacked, and everything wrapped up far too conveniently in a negatively noticeable way, effectively suspending my suspension of disbelief.

I enjoyed Joe most of the time. There were attention-grabbing scenes, most notably when Joe faces off with police officers who follow Joe around, expecting him to break the law again. And most of the flaws I mentioned were easy to overlook when you're watching Nicolas Cage deliver one of the best performances of his career. I went into this movie with high hopes. I thought it would be fantastic - and I really wanted it to be - but while recommendable, Joe was a bit underwhelming. Side note: could they have thought of a better title?

Rating: 3/5

Joe is available to rent on iTunes