Killer Joe (2011) ***1/2

 

I like a good neo-noir as much as the next guy. And I don't mind them being trashy. John McNaughton's lurid 1998 film “Wild Things” is one of my favorites. It turns out, though, that I have my limits when it comes to trashiness, and as good as it is, the southern gothic “Killer Joe” pushes those limits.

Adele Smith is a thorn in the side of her family. Her kids, Chris (Emile Hirsch) and Dottie (Juno Temple), and her ex-husband, Ansel (Thomas Hayden Church), can't stand her. Her latest transgression is stealing cocaine that Chris was supposed to sell, putting him in serious debt to his supplier. It's the last straw. Chris visits his dad with a plan. He has heard about a dirty cop named Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) who does murder-for-hire. Chris convinces Ansel that they can have Adele killed and have Dottie collect as the beneficiary on her insurance policy. That should give them more than enough to pay Joe's fee and split a nice profit amongst the family.

It's a straitforward plan, except that Joe doesn't take jobs on spec. Dealing with the kind of people he does, it makes sense that he would be more of a cash-up-front operator. Joe takes a shine, however, to Dottie, and agrees to do the job in exchange for her favors. Dottie actually likes Joe, and soon he's like a member of the family, hanging around the trailer, spending nights with Dottie, and preparing to murder Adele. The family's various white-trash entanglements and general stupidity, however, get in the way of a smoothly-running plan.

This is actually a tightly-crafted tale of murder and deception, neo-noir at its best. The Smith clan are a sordid enough bunch that, other than Dottie, it should be hard to feel sorry for any of them. Solid acting on the parts of Hirsh and Church, however, make it possible to feel symathetic towards even these low-lifes. Joe, however, is really creepy. McConaughey plays Joe as a cool, collected killer, but his wooing of the intellectually disabled Dottie has an ick factor that is off the charts. Between Joe's weird, domineering seduction style and the gratuitous violence in the film, this is not something to watch on a full stomach.

At the end of the day, “Killer Joe” is a perfectly-paced black-comedy thriller. It's too lurid by half, but a great narrative and great acting make it required viewing for the neo-noir fan who can stomach it.

3.5 stars out of 5