YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE

This is one of those films where immediately it finishes I need to check the plot summary in Wikipedia.  In this case the plot is simple enough but it is presented in such a skeletal fashion I felt a need to get it fleshed out.

Not that the plot is really that important even in the second half when a state Senator and the state Governor enter the picture.  Because at heart this film is a character study.

And because the character in question, Joe (played by Joaquin Phoenix) is severely damaged, through childhood abuse by a violent father, and possibly through some PTSD from military service, this is not an easy viewing experience.  To add further to the pain on display, Joe's line of work is to rescue under-age girls, specifically in this film Nina, the state Senator's daughter.

We get to understand that Joe is damaged through the use of fleeting images from his past, and from various acts of self-harm in the present both actual and imagined.  At times the combination of images and music creates a dreamlike mood.  In particular the water burial which Joe gives his mother is a beautiful and haunting sequence.

If you come to this film expecting a violent straightforward thriller you will be disappointed given that a fair bit of the violence happens off-screen.  The ending, which is open-ended to say the least, is also likely to frustrate anyone who doesn't like loose ends.

But there is no denying the skill and artistry on display, most of the credit for which lies with Lynne Ramsay who wrote and directed it.

RATING: ✓ If You've Nothing Better To Do