Joe (2014) | Movie Review

Nicolas Cage stars as Joe, an ex-con with a penchant for excess. When not rounding up local talent as foreman for a lumber company; Joe spends his days screwing too much, drinking too often, losing his temper even more and essentially wading through life as if nothing matters.

Everything changes when he meets 15 year-old Gary (Tye Sheridan). Desperate to earn a decent wage to support his destitute family, Gary pleads for a job for himself and his abusive father, Wade (Gary Poulter). After Joe gives him a chance, he begins to see the man Gary is…as well as the monster that resides in Wade.

Nicolas Cage has had one intriguing career. First gaining notice as a character actor, then leading films that defined the term ‘quirky, and then becoming one of the most unique box-office superstars in modern film history. Taking a few too many sub-par roles, his choices have proven questionable at best and Cage has become the butt of many a film-buff jokes over these last few years. Joe seems to be Cage’s way of silencing the critics and becoming an ‘Actor’ again, and he truly delivers.

Cage’s Joe is not the stereotypical alcoholic most films portray as he is a very functional alcoholic. This is not a performance of exaggeration, this is a practice of realistic restraint. Just as his abuse is kept at a believable level, so are his random fits of anger. Anyone that has ever dealt with someone with anger management issues knows full well how random these events occur. They do not solely happen when the character has been pushed too far, they happen just getting the mail or walking the dog. Cage shows us a man with a trigger that no one can see, which serve the character by making his fits of rage even more unnerving.

Tye Sheridan (Mud) proves once again that he is on the top shelf of young actors in today’s overcrowded CW-heavy marketplace. While he has the looks of a typical teen heartthrob, Sheridan continues to take roles that challenge him and has managed to hold his own in back-to-back films with some serious Hollywood heavyweights. Sheridan just has a naturalism that sells himself as both child and man, which is the exact mix the film needs to propel Joe to its cathartic conclusion.

As impressive as Nic Cage is, Gary Poulter brings a back-story that could be its own movie. A homeless man, found in Austin where the film was shot, Poulter had never acted before. Director David Gordon Green chose Poulter for his third lead from meeting him at a local bus stop and even with his complete lack of acting experience, he did not disappoint.

Wade could very easily be seen as Joe with no moral compass, that this is the man he or Gary are to become should they not change the course of sail. Poulter has such a unique way of speaking and demonstrating his torment of Gary that he dares you to look away and miss the subtleties he brings to the role. Sadly, Poulter passed away shortly after filming, but what a story and performance he left us with.

David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express, Your Highness) manages to one-up and establish himself as an exciting director of tightly written character work here. Joe is a harrowing look into the lost souls of men and brings one our most accomplished actors back to the stage he belongs in. Nicolas Cage has heard the audience’s backhanded comments, and his Joe isn’t laughing.

If $10 is the full price of admission, Joe is worth $8

 

 Aaron Peterson
The Hollywood Outsider
A SXSW Film Review