Despite The Exorcist being my absolute favourite film of all time I was surprised to note that prior to seeing Killer Joe I had never seen another of William Friedkin's films. Not even The French Connection. Nor Sonny & Cher in "Good Times". So seeing Killer Joe was an almost daunting experience. Standing in the shadow of the Goliath that is The Exorcist I had high hopes that Friedkin didn't just hit a fluke in my consideration of The Exorcist being the greatest film ever made.
At the start of the film I wondered if the intimate scope of the film and the reasonably simple premise of a family seeking to knock of their mother/wife/husband's ex (delete where applicable) so that they could inherit her substantial life insurance, would be able to deliver something that would stand out in the middle of Summer Blockbuster season. By the time the film had finished however those thoughts were far from my mind and I felt a pang of self-contempt for doubting Friedkin.
If you've read any previous reviews for the film, or in fact heard just about anybody talking about the film you will likely have heard of a certain shocking scene involving a piece of fried chicken. I'm not going to spoil you the fate of the piece of chicken but rest assured you won't see anything else like it in a cinema this year or possibly ever. I was completely unprepared with the level of violence this film would descend to as were numerous members of the audience who upon exiting the cinema at the end of the film complained of feeling ill and wanting to walk out but simply couldn't due to being so captivated.
I've no doubt that part of that is down to the genius casting of Matthew McConaughey as the titular contract killer Joe Cooper. No doubt misleading many members of the audience after a career of recognition in mostly insipid chick flicks (despite numerous roles in grittier pieces). He absolutely steals the show here though displaying a likeable charisma despite the perverse maniacal tendencies of the character he's portraying.
I had heard a lot of people complaining that Juno Temple seemed miscast but I certainly couldn't see it myself. This is certainly a challenging role for a young actor and she seemed to handled the material as well as could be hoped. The other surprise for me being Thomas Haden Church who for once has picked a decent film to put his considerable acting chops to good use. His character is every bit as jaw dropping as McConaughey's in the final scenes. Oh, and whilst I think about it I have to take my hat off to Gina Gershon for THAT scene.
Whilst not an exceptional film it's not without its numerable merits which make for a curious character piece and a great change of pace at this time of the year on the film calendar.
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