Joe

Cage finally stepped away from the cheap roles for a while and delivered a slow-burning drama about ordinary life—and it was a great move. Some people just get dealt a tough hand, and when a filmmaker can capture that in such a subtle way, I’m all in. It’s refreshing to see him back in quality filmmaking, and here’s hoping he doesn’t slip back into those easy paychecks with forgettable flicks. 70%. (22/06/2014)

It's as if some creators have decided to find peace by showing us a group of people who are in a bad place, living in a way that most middle-class people won't approve of, and yet in their unscrupulous lives, it's possible to find a certain direction to follow. It's odd, and Cage works in his role, but this film didn't quite work for me. (06/06/2014)

Somehow, I’m developing a weak spot for these crazy small town movies from the middle of America. Nicolas Cage plays a former convict in this movie, and although he is actually the only convict in the area, he is also the only normal and more or less healthy functioning person there. This can’t be said about those around him, except for the boy who clings to him, who does not belong there at all. They are all nuts. It almost looks as if the town was overflowing with blacks and white nutjobs. Anyway, I have to admit that I really enjoyed this dark drama. Nicolas Cage plays weird guys in weird movies. Sometimes he doesn’t succeed, other times I’m bowing down before him because even with his shooting speed there are still movies in which he manages to surprise. (18/05/2014)

I have one big problem with this. Nicolas Cage, at his core a good-hearted and respected guy, is portrayed as a hunted victim of society who is happily trampled on by others for his every transgression, while Gary's father, an old drunk and the most physically and mentally repulsive creature of American redneck culture, goes largely unnoticed and he can beat the whole family without much objection. Maybe it's supposed to be a metaphor for how ugly and unfair life is, but it doesn't help the film with its established rules, the plot is unnecessarily stretched to wannabe existential heights, and the two aforementioned characters always end up behaving exactly as expected from the start. In terms of craftsmanship and especially the performances, everything is fine and the bleakness of the setting is reflected in a very oppressive and dirty atmosphere, but I can't shake the feeling that a lot of similar themes have passed through Hollywood and that Joe is slavishly describing most of them, however carefully and without major mistakes. Fine to watch on TV, but not at the cinema. 65% (24/05/2016)

Nicolas Cage is back! Or is he? Joe is a solidly made drama, but probably not a ticket back to Hollywood for Nick. Too bad. And that full beard kind of suits him...60% (26/07/2014)