You Were Never Really Here

Apparently there's a common misconception that there's not enough movies that feature a hired gun that has a military background with a bad case of post-traumatic stress disorder. This is then followed up by them going on a mission that forces them to move on from their past pain. Aspects of these premises as a whole or parts of tend to be overused a bit notably in straightforward action movies but the PTSD affliction won't be focused on that much. However, what would happen if that type of scenario was still present but the priorities were altered? This brings us to You Were Never Really Here, a thriller from Lynne Ramsey that's been talked about since its debut in the Cannes film festival last year. I didn't look at the marketing for it before I viewed it (instead going in blind, which was the best decision since the trailer is misleading on what kind of movie it is) and it earned positive critical reception. I entered the auditorium ready to watch this independent thriller one month after its wide release and I left it slightly confused but glad I checked it out.

Plot: The story follows a combat veteran and former FBI agent with PTSD as a hired gun who is given another assignment in rescuing trafficked girls, which takes a turn for the worse. The storytelling nature presented here is very strange and unique in how the severity of the main leads mental state is haunted by his past, which results in hallucinations (both visual and audible). In addition to that, it mostly relies on visual silence to dictate what's going on with simple conversations to guide the audience. It's also a nice touch in how the soundtrack is utilized in a sudden manner to reflect the condition of the main protagonist. This is more of psychological thriller in how our main protagonist copes with their mindset rather than focusing on his action skillset, which is very minimal compared to what it was marketed as. All of this provides a fascinating experience to view that's accompanied by a powerful lead performance.

However, in committing to its own style, the weakness creeps up in trying understanding what's going on. The execution actually made it difficult to figure out the details of why events are happening to the point I looked up the movie on Wikipedia to see if I missed anything (which I did). There are moments where the dialog is inaudible (from the direction these actors were given) either being mumbled or dramatic whispering, which can take some people out of it. There are some odd moments where the film tries to be artistic throughout whether its through a few bizarre closeup shots or scenes that feel used from other independent projects that are somewhat off-putting. Honestly what would have helped is if the runtime was a little bit longer to allow some more time to show more of story bits that's felt rushed in the editing shots and let the audience clearly know why certain events transpired (at most, 5 more minutes).

Characters: The person to focus on is Joe (Joaquin Phoenix), our hired gun with military experience coupled with PTSD who rescues trafficked girls. Joaquin gives a great performance in delivering a moving portrayal audience members can sympathize with. His behavior patterns associated with associated with veterans struck with that same condition is very respectable yet chilling to watch. A dishonorable mention goes Nina (Ekaterina Samsonov) for her lacking performance, which is displayed the most in her scenes with Joaquin.

Overall Consensus: You Were Never Really Here provides a solid psychological thrilling experience via stylistic editing, a powerful lead performance, and good visual storytelling, despite being somewhat incomprehensible in its execution.⭑⭑⭑⭑🎟 Runtime: 1 hour 25 minutes R

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan Joaquin Phoenix. You enjoy psychological thrillers that focus more on traumatic conditions of its main protagonist rather than the action. You don't mind surprising moments of blood and gore. You like slow pacing suspense movies.

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan Joaquin Phoenix. You dislike psychological thrillers that focus more on traumatic conditions of its main protagonist rather than the action. You are sensitive to surprising moments of blood and gore. You dislike slow pacing in general.

Coming up next: May is going pretty good so far in its momentum due to a string of solid independent movies. But now its time to return to the upcoming releases of the summer blockbusters with an entry from the 20th Century Fox side of Marvel. With the smashing critical and box office surprise of its rated R 2016 predecessor, will the sequel do its job in delivering a good follow? I went to an advanced screening for this last week to figure out that answer! Tune in next time as Screening Spectacles will be publishing the review for Deadpool 2 (most likely on Friday)!!