Killer Joe is finger-lickin’ good

For Killer Joe, director William Friedkin again teams with playwright Tracy Letts, in his first outing since the duo’s Bug in 2006.  This time the pair set their sights on a family of Texas rednecks and the hitman they strike a shameful deal with.  Black and bizarrely comedic, Killer Joe’s often shocking moments have earned it an NC-17 kiss of death in America, despite having nary a glimpse of a Fassmember. For those who brave it, Killer Joe utilises a superb cast that makes the madness exceptionally enjoyable, in a dirty-feeling way.

Killer Joe gives UK audiences a mouthful from 29 June

Emile Hirsch gives a slightly stagey performance as Chris, the drug-dealing son whose life depends on coming up with a large sum of cash, toot sweet. As they saying goes, “it takes money to make money” so Chris and his dopey dad Ansel (Thomas Haden Church) hatch a plot that sees them hiring the services of Dallas police detective Joe Cooper, menacingly played by Matthew McConaughey, who moonlights as a contract killer.  His target is Chris’ own mother.  It sounds heavy, but that is the mere tip of the creepy-iceberg.  Thankfully, there is some delightfully daft, deadpan humour provided by Church.  The three male leads all get brilliant quips in, but it’s Church, with his patchy pubic-like facial hair, who knocks it out of the park each and every time.  Ansel is as gloriously stupid as any character can get.  Then there are the women of Killer Joe, whose treatment will be a great source of discomfort for many viewers.  The portrayals of Juno Temple’s princess and Gina Gershon’s wicked step-mother in this southern-fried fairy tale are anything but Disney-like in their nature.

Gershon’s Sharla, contemptuous of both her husband and his son, is depicted as promiscuous and two-faced.  Temple is the polar opposite as the simple, sweet and virginal Dottie.  The sexualisation of both characters, however, is jarring.  There’s a certain amount inherent in the plot itself, yet a high-angle peep as Dottie tries on a dress in a changing room is unnecessary and does nothing to advance the narrative.  It’s enough to see her come of age through dubious circumstances without having to literally expose her at every opportunity.  The fact that the character is presented as a bit slow and child-like makes it all the more unsettling.  It’s Gershon who is gets the worst of it, though. A scene shared with McConaghey is one that will not soon be forgotten by anyone who witnesses it.  The visuals may be disturbing, and credit due to Gershon for being game, but it’s McConaghey who really makes the moment work as he throws his head back with pleasure.  It’s both grotesque and funny at once, and it works.

While Killer Joe does supply a, err… healthy dose of blood, boobs and bush, one of the most striking attributes of Killer Joe is how vibrant it is.  The hues pop off the screen and serve well to counterbalance the grim realities of the schemes gone awry.  It looks great and despite the gritty tale that is told, it’s shined up for smooth consumption.  The film is very much a sum of its parts and there’s a clever crime drama running at the core of it that draws together all the performances and the sick laughter.  So easy is it to enjoy Killer Joe that it comes riddled with guilt due to how poorly women are represented in the script.  Granted, Killer Joe doesn’t paint a sparkling portrait of poor southerners regardless of sex; yet even in this world, it’s the women who are truly evil and disposable and whose greatest assets are their sexuality.  That doesn’t detract from some genuinely memorable bits of cinema, but it leaves an unfortunate hangover.

Employing Tarantino-eque humour, Killer Joe is a lot more fun that it has any right to be given its twisted story.  With outstanding turns from most of the cast and stylised griminess, it’s a film with plenty to appreciate.  What prevents it from being the kind of dark, escapist entertainment that Tarantino often achieves are the sexist elements that hang above the film like storm clouds.  It will impact each person’s experience of the film differently, but viewers of Killer Joe may feel the need for a long shower by the time it’s over.  8/10