You Were Never Really Here (2018)

Vicious, brutal, engrossing, visceral and sad - You Were Never Really Here is a violent crime vigilante drama by Lynne Ramsay that has more to say within the “Taxi Driver” genre. About a man whose past as a war veteran lends itself to his career as a contract child tractor and predator assassin.

As many will say, You Were Never Really Here is excitingly reminiscent of the film “Taxi Driver”, but ironically more so realistic coming from such a surreal take on mental illness as You Were Never Really Here portrays.

Though the film is exactly as you would imagine based on its trailer, Lynne Ramsay manages to make Joe and his atmosphere gritty, dark, dull and scary, while being reflective, beautiful and hypnotically wandering and melancholy. With an original score setting the tone for outside of Joe’s head and inside Joe’s mind. The film isn’t afraid to portray real relationships and real violence and its consequences but also wants us to understand how Joe got to where he is and the deep psychosis that would riddle a veteran whose become a contract killer. Interestingly so, the moments where we get to understand Joe are disturbing but freeing.

Joaquin Phoenix is eagerly made for this role, immersed in menace struts, childish angry and psychopathic brute force but Joaquin Phoenix being the only one to express the pain beyond the physical pain of a character whose choices are directly influenced from his past of violence and fear.

Lynne Ramsay makes a beautiful looking film from two extremes of gore and enlightenment and makes it work. Understanding the fun of stylized film making without drowning or confusing the reality and plot of a rough, dull, brutal atmosphere within a film.

You Were Never Really Here does everything right visually, audibly and creatively and surprisingly leaves you emotionally present making it definitely one of this years best if not the best.

-          Maurice Jones

Outside In (2018)

Outside In is a needed progression from Lynn Shelton who can’t make a satirizing film to save her life apart from Laggies though that movies message for women to find a rich man to lean on and though outside ins portrayal of imprisoned men being painfully and wrongfully white, outside in delivers us what Lynn Shelton should been doing it the first place.

Certain lines here and there throughout the movie makes the films atmosphere feel realer and realer and express Lynn Shelton’s slight talent in creating realistic interactions with her characters. The real location of Granite Falls also lends its natural beauty and Mundane yet quaint infrastructure to sell the realism of this story with the differentiating housing structures of it’s characters. 

Lynn Shelton does her best writing here, subtlety exposing ones jealously and uncertainty with bursts of a character’s joyous explanation and opposing characters short handed questioning responses of disappointment accompanied with sharp core lines towards someone’s shaming truth. Lynn Shelton can’t hold back dialogue wise with this recent entry. 

Edie Falco plays her most vulnerable role yet being charming and rest assured while uncertain and broken at the same time. Jay Duplass, though stereotypical at times plays ex convict Chris with a painstaking sincerity, that’s hard to watch but believably so. And Kaitlyn Dever gives a bold portrayal as Edie Falco’s daughter, playing her confident and troubled but human is every way.

Outside In has a few flaws in its directing but considering Lynn Shelton’s past films and her unfinished style in general, Outside In is her most gritty film yet but just as satisfying as Laggies. 

- Maurice Jones