Joe (2013 film)

Last updated

Joe
Joe (2013 film) poster.jpg
French theatrical release poster
Directed by David Gordon Green
Screenplay by Gary Hawkins
Based onJoe
by Larry Brown
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Tim Orr
Edited byColin Patton
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by Lionsgate [1]
Roadside Attractions
Release dates
  • August 30, 2013 (2013-08-30)(Venice)
  • April 11, 2014 (2014-04-11)(United States)
Running time
117 minutes [2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4 million
Box office$2.4 million [3]

Joe is a 2013 American independent Southern Gothic crime drama film directed and co-produced by David Gordon Green, co-produced by Lisa Muskat, Derrick Tseng and Christopher Woodrow and written by Gary Hawkins, based on Larry Brown's 1991 novel of the same name. It stars Nicolas Cage and Tye Sheridan, revolving around a tormented man who hires a 15-year-old boy and protects him from his abusive father.

Contents

The film premiered at the 70th Venice International Film Festival on August 30, 2013, [4] [5] with a subsequent screening at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. [6] The film was then distributed in limited theatrical release by Worldview Entertainment and Lionsgate Films on April 11, 2014. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised Green's direction and the performances of Cage, Sheridan, and Gary Poulter.

Plot

A 15-year-old drifter named Gary asks Joe Ransom, the even-tempered tattooed chain-smoking boss of a Texan tree-poisoning crew, for a job, and impresses him with his industriousness. The next day, Gary brings his alcoholic father, Wade, to work, but Wade's poor attitude and laziness get them fired. Joe witnesses Wade beat Gary and take his money. Gary later goes to Joe's house to ask for his job back, swearing he'll make up for his father's behavior. Joe agrees, and Gary begins working for him, hiding his money from Wade.

Willie Russell, a criminal with whom Joe has a long-standing feud, shoots and wounds Joe as he leaves a friend's house. Later, Gary meets Willie and asks for a ride home; when Willie makes lewd comments about Gary's younger sister, Dorothy, Gary beats him up. Later, Wade beats to death a homeless man, stealing his liquor. Willie confronts Joe at a bar and asks where Gary lives in order to seek revenge. Joe does not answer and, when Willie presses him, beats him up. Joe tells the bartender to call the police before fleeing to a brothel but leaves after getting spooked by a guard dog. He goes home, getting his dog Faith and returns to the brothel, setting it on the guard dog, and has a prostitute give him oral sex. He leaves with his dog, who has killed the guard dog. Two police officers stop him at gunpoint, and Joe challenges them to a fight. Joe is arrested but released.

Wade asks Gary for money, but Gary denies having any. Wade finds food in the cupboard and questions how he can afford food. They get into an argument that ends with Wade pulling a knife. He leaves but threatens to return and find Gary's money. Gary visits Joe, who tells him that he served 29 months for assaulting police officers. Gary agrees to help Joe look for his missing dog. After spending hours together and bonding, they find the dog and Joe gives Gary his lighter as a keepsake. Joe finds Wade walking and offers him a ride. They do not get far before Wade insults Gary and accuses Joe of not paying him. Joe grabs him by the collar and threatens to hurt him if anything happens to Gary.

Later on, Gary tells Joe that he has enough money to buy his truck, and Joe takes him to the dealership where he has bought a new one. Joe tells Gary to keep the money he was going to use to buy Joe's truck and use it to obtain insurance. When he questions what insurance is, Joe promises to help him with it. As Joe drives home, a patrol cop stops him and tries to make him take a breathalyzer, but Joe refuses and drives away. After an altercation, Joe beats up the officer. A senior officer, a friend of Joe's and a fellow ex-con, visit Joe and says the patrol cop had it coming but warns him to keep his nose clean.

Gary arrives at Joe's house, his face bruised, and asks to borrow his truck. Gary reveals that Wade beat him up, stole his truck, and left with Dorothy, intent on pimping her out to Willie and his goon. They go after Wade. Meanwhile, Willie pays Wade $60, and prepares to rape Dorothy first. Joe arrives and subdues Willie, and Gary leaves with Dorothy for help. Willie begs an unmoved Joe for his life, but as Joe prepares to kill him, one of Willie's thugs shoots him in the side and accidentally shoots Willie as well. Joe kills the thug then finishes Willie off before limping towards Wade, who is standing on a nearby bridge. He tries to shoot him, but misses. He attempts to shoot Wade again, but finds he is out of bullets. Wade asks Joe if he is his friend, and when Joe doesn't answer, leaps to his death. Joe then collapses and looks at the gaping wound in his side. Gary arrives with the sheriff and embraces Joe as he dies. He looks down and sees his father's body.

Later, it is shown that an untold amount of time has passed. Gary is seen driving Joe's car with Joe's dog. He arrives at a job interview to replant the woods Joe and his crew had originally torn down.

Cast

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes reports that 86% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 137 reviews with an average score of 7.3/10, with the site consensus: "Rich in atmosphere and anchored by a powerful performance from Nicolas Cage, Joe is a satisfying return to form for its star — as well as director David Gordon Green". [7] On Metacritic, it has a score of 74 out of 100 based on reviews from 36 critics. [8]

The film circulated into the mainstream news when actor Gary Poulter was found dead in a shallow body of water on February 19, 2013, before the film was ever released. [9] [10] Poulter, who played Wade in the film, was homeless, suffered from alcoholism and was already seriously ill. His only other acting credit was as a background extra in the TV series Thirtysomething . Producers worried that casting Poulter in the film would be a risk because of his alcoholism, but Green stayed committed to having him in the film. Writing for RogerEbert.com, Peter Sobczynski called Poulter's performance "stunning" and "one of the great one-shot performances in the history of the cinema". [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Stranger Than Paradise</i> 1984 film directed by Jim Jarmusch

Stranger Than Paradise is a 1984 American black-and-white absurdist deadpan comedy film directed, co-written and co-edited by Jim Jarmusch, and starring jazz musician John Lurie, former Sonic Youth drummer-turned-actor Richard Edson, and Hungarian-born actress and violinist Eszter Balint. It features a minimalist plot in which the main character, Willie, is visited by Eva, his cousin from Hungary. Eva stays with him for ten days before going to Cleveland. Willie and his friend Eddie go to Cleveland to visit her, and the three then take a trip to Florida. The film is shot entirely in single long takes with no standard coverage.

<i>Dumb and Dumber</i> 1994 comedy film by Peter Farrelly

Dumb and Dumber is a 1994 American buddy comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly, who cowrote the screenplay with Bobby Farrelly and Bennett Yellin. It is the first installment in the Dumb and Dumber franchise. Starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, it tells the story of Lloyd Christmas (Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Daniels), two dumb but well-meaning friends from Providence, Rhode Island, who set out on a cross-country road trip to Aspen, Colorado, to return a briefcase full of money to its owner, thinking it was abandoned as a mistake, though it was actually left as a ransom. Lauren Holly, Karen Duffy, Mike Starr, Charles Rocket, and Teri Garr play supporting roles.

<i>Secondhand Lions</i> 2003 film by Tim McCanlies

Secondhand Lions is a 2003 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Tim McCanlies. It tells the story of an introverted young boy who is sent to live with his eccentric great uncles on a farm in Texas.

<i>Pushover</i> (film) 1954 film by Richard Quine

Pushover is a 1954 American film noir crime film directed by Richard Quine, starring Fred MacMurray, Phil Carey and Kim Novak in her first credited role. The motion picture was adapted from two novels – Thomas Walsh's The Night Watch and William S. Ballinger's Rafferty – by Roy Huggins, who went on to great success creating television series, including The Fugitive, Maverick, and The Rockford Files.

<i>Route 666</i> (film) 2001 film by William Wesley

Route 666 is a 2001 action horror film directed by William Wesley and starring Lou Diamond Phillips, Lori Petty, Steven Williams, L.Q. Jones, Dale Midkiff, Alex McArthur, and Mercedes Colon. In the film, government agents are besieged by the ghosts of a massacred chain gang while driving down a desert highway.

<i>Red</i> (2008 film) 2008 American film

Red is a 2008 American thriller film based on a novel by Jack Ketchum and directed by Trygve Allister Diesen and Lucky McKee. It concerns one man's revenge after his beloved dog is shot to death when he doesn't have enough money to satisfy an attempted robber. The screenplay was written by Stephen Susco based on the novel. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008.

<i>The Devil to Pay!</i> 1930 film

The Devil to Pay! is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Ronald Colman, Frederick Kerr, Myrna Loy and Loretta Young. It was written by Frederick Lonsdale and Benjamin Glazer.

<i>Eyes of an Angel</i> 1991 film

Eyes of an Angel is a 1991 American drama film starring John Travolta and directed by Robert Harmon. It was released in France, Sweden, and on television in the United States as The Tender. It was released straight-to-video in 1994 under its proper title to coincide with Travolta's bigger name release, Pulp Fiction. According to the opening credits, the movie is based on a true story. The film was shot predominantly in Chicago with some pickups and reshoots in Los Angeles. It was the final film to be produced under the Trans World Entertainment label.

<i>Johnny Apollo</i> (film) 1940 film by Henry Hathaway

Johnny Apollo is a 1940 American film noir crime film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Tyrone Power and Dorothy Lamour.

<i>Hummingbird</i> (film) 2013 British film

Hummingbird is a 2013 action crime drama film written and directed by Steven Knight in his directorial debut. It stars Jason Statham as a haunted, alcoholic veteran who befriends a Catholic nun, becomes involved in organized crime, and exacts vengeance on a man who beats and kills prostitutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tye Sheridan</span> American actor (born 1996)

Tye Kayle Sheridan is an American actor. He made his feature film debut in Terrence Malick's experimental drama film The Tree of Life (2011) and had his first leading role in Jeff Nichols's film Mud (2012).

<i>Blue Ruin</i> 2013 US thriller film by Jeremy Saulnier

Blue Ruin is a 2013 American revenge thriller film written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier and starring Macon Blair. Saulnier funded production on the film through a successful Kickstarter campaign, which MTV called "the perfect example of what crowdfunding can accomplish."

<i>A Single Shot</i> 2013 American film

A Single Shot is a 2013 American crime thriller film directed by David M. Rosenthal and written by Matthew F. Jones, based on his own novel of the same name. It stars Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy, Ted Levine, Kelly Reilly and Jason Isaacs.

<i>Last Days in the Desert</i> 2015 American film

Last Days in the Desert is a 2015 American drama film directed and written by Rodrigo García. A variation on the biblical story of the Temptation of Christ, the film stars Ewan McGregor in a dual role of Jesus - referred to in the film as "Yeshua" - and a demon who may or may not be Satan, while Tye Sheridan, Ciarán Hinds and Ayelet Zurer play a family they meet while in the desert.

Gary Poulter was an American street performer and actor known for his lead role alongside Nicolas Cage in David Gordon Green's 2013 film Joe. Poulter was homeless, living on the streets of Austin, Texas when he was cast in the role of Wade, the abusive alcoholic father of Gary, played by Tye Sheridan.

<i>The Yellow Birds</i> (film) 2017 film

The Yellow Birds is a 2017 American war film directed by Alexandre Moors and based on the novel The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers. The film stars Tye Sheridan, Alden Ehrenreich, Toni Collette, Jason Patric, Jack Huston, and Jennifer Aniston.

<i>Entertainment</i> (2015 film) 2015 film directed by Rick Alverson

Entertainment is a 2015 American drama film directed by Rick Alverson, starring Gregg Turkington, Tye Sheridan, and John C. Reilly. It is loosely based on Turkington's Neil Hamburger character. The plot follows a stand-up comedian as he performs in various locations where the audience is either hostile or indifferent to him. Alverson, Turkington and Tim Heidecker co-wrote the film.

<i>The Night Clerk</i> 2020 film directed by Michael Cristofer

The Night Clerk is a 2020 American crime drama film, written and directed by Michael Cristofer. It stars Tye Sheridan, Ana de Armas, John Leguizamo and Helen Hunt, and follows a hotel night clerk who becomes the center of a murder investigation. The film was released on February 21, 2020, by Saban Films. On June 6, 2020, Netflix released the film on its platform. The film has received negative reviews from critics who criticized it for its lackluster story, derivative, and undeveloped characters; however, Sheridan's performance did receive praise.

<i>Outlaw Killers: Three Mad Dog Brothers</i> 1972 Japanese film

Outlaw Killers: Three Mad Dog Brothers, is a 1972 Japanese yakuza film directed by Kinji Fukasaku.

<i>The Tender Bar</i> (film) 2021 film by George Clooney

The Tender Bar is a 2021 American coming-of-age film directed by George Clooney from a screenplay by William Monahan. Adapted from the 2005 memoir of the same name by J. R. Moehringer, it recounts Moehringer's life growing up on Long Island. It stars Ben Affleck, Tye Sheridan, Daniel Ranieri, Lily Rabe, and Christopher Lloyd. It was the final film appearance of Sondra James before her death in September 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Joe (2013)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Joe (15)". British Board of Film Classification . May 16, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Joe (2014)". Box Office Mojo.
  4. ↑ "Venezia 70". labiennale. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Venice film festival 2013: the full line-up". The Guardian. London. July 25, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Toronto film festival 2013: the full line-up". The Guardian. London. July 23, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Joe (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Joe". Metacritic . Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  9. ↑ Juzwiak, Rich (April 11, 2014). "The Tragedy of Gary Poulter, Nic Cage's Homeless Co-Star". Gawker.com . Archived from the original on April 12, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  10. ↑ O’Connell, Joe (April 11, 2014). "His Name Was Gary Poulter". Austin Chronicle . Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  11. ↑ Sobczynski, Peter (April 11, 2014). "Joe". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.