YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE (2017)

Sometimes we go to the movies and have a good time. And then sometimes we go to the movies and end up feeling like we've had our insides ripped out and stomped on by mutant gorillas. The latter description applies to my experience while watching Lynne Ramsay's YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE.

This dark, brooding, visceral film is like a fever dream with a linear story that weaves its way into your consciousness alongside relentlessly ugly, violent imagery. Joaquin Phoenix, in a powerful performance, plays a guy named Joe, a veteran with PTSD, who lives with and cares for his elderly mother. Joe is also a former FBI agent who works for a clandestine organization that rescues young girls who have been abducted into the world of sex trafficking. When he's called to do a job involving a politician who's trying to get his daughter back, Joe finds himself caught up in a conspiracy that threatens his life and the lives of those he cares about.

For those who have an aversion to violence and bloodletting, this film can be difficult to watch in some places. Be forewarned. However, the subject matter and the presence of Phoenix make it worthwhile. To be honest, the film could be much more violent than it is. But the director shoots many scenes in such a way that confrontations occur mostly off screen or are seen through a remote security camera. My sincere gratitude to Ms. Ramsay!

Trivial tidbit: Judith Roberts, the actress who plays Joe's mother, is the same woman who played the beautiful, mysterious prostitute living across the hall from Henry (Jack Nance) in David Lynch's ERASERHEAD (1977).