Joe (2013)

An ex-con, who is the unlikeliest of role models, meets a 15-year-old boy and is faced with the choice of redemption or ruin.

Director:

David Gordon Green

Writers:

Gary Hawkins, Larry Brown (based on the novel by)

Stars:

Nicolas Cage, Tye Sheridan, Gary Poulter

4 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicolas Cage	...	Joe
Tye Sheridan	...	Gary
Gary Poulter	...	Wade a.k.a. G-Daawg
Ronnie Gene Blevins	...	Willie-Russell
Adriene Mishler	...	Connie
Brian Mays	...	Junior (as Brian D. Mays)
Aj Wilson McPhaul	...	Earl (as A.J. Wilson McPhaul)
Sue Rock	...	Merle
Heather Kafka	...	Lacy
Brenda Isaacs Booth	...	Mother (as Brenda Isaacs-Booth)
Anna Niemtschk	...	Dorothy
Elbert Hill III	...	Shorty (as Elbert Evan Hill III)
Milton Fountain	...	Milton
Roderick L. Polk	...	Roscoe
Aaron Spivey-Sorrells	...	Sammy

Storyline

In order to provide for his destitute family of drifters, a likable, sincere, able-bodied 15-year-old boy comes to hire on among a burned-out ex-con's group of aging forest laborers. As the man becomes more and more aware of the boy's abusive home life, his deeply buried humanity is roused. Drinking and smoking incessantly to remain detached from his volatile temper, he finally takes the matter into his own hands - come what may - when the boy's alcoholic father finally goes too far.

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Plot Keywords:

alcoholic | cigarette smoking | woods | father son relationship | teenage boy | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, disturbing material, language and some strong sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 April 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Джо

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$105,881, 13 April 2014

Gross USA:

$373,375

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,431,443

Company Credits

Production Co:

Worldview Entertainment, Dreambridge Films, Muskat Filmed Properties

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both actors Nicolas Cage & Tye Sheridan have starred in Marvel Comics films. Cage starred as Johnny Blaze / Ghost Rider in Ghost Rider (2007) and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011). Sheridan starred as Scott Summers / Cyclops in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) and Dark Phoenix (2019).

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Goofs

When Gary takes off his vest by Joe's truck, his shirt pulls up and a microphone cable is visible going into his waistband.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Gary: Hey, you old man, you look at me. I got som'in' to say to you. Every time we land someplace new, you say it's gonna be different, but it ain't. You mess up... a lot... then you leave a mess for me and Momma and Dorothy to clean up, and that ain't right. That's all I'm sayin'. Hell, I do what I gotta do. You do whatever the hell you want - whatever you can get away with. You're just a... selfish old drunk. Yeah, that's what you is. Yeah, this place is gonna be after us. Hell, ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Sandra Bullock/Rod Stewart (2015)

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Soundtracks

You Knew Joe?
Written by Chris Hrasky, Michael James, Munaf Rayani and Mark T. Smith (as Mark Smith)
Performed by Explosions in the Sky

User Reviews

The ultimate feel bad film

This is one of the darkest, bleakest films I have seen in a long time. All characters, without any exception, are unhappy souls, surviving in a grim world, unable to improve their lives, prone to an almost genetically determined urge to mess things up.

The image of rural America this film paints, is almost like that of a third world country. Most men have a cigarette in one hand and a bottle in the other. Dysfunctional families live in decaying shacks, without money or food. Violent dogs are barking everywhere. Disagreements are settled by fistfights or, in some cases, by bullets. The only community centres are a grocery store and a whorehouse. Homeless people are killed for a few dollars and a bottle of liquor.

The central character is Joe, an outstanding role from Nicolas Cage. He is a loner, living on the edge of society, earning a living by poisoning trees so that they can be removed legally. He hires workers on a daily basis, one of them being a 15 year old kid who regularly gets beaten up by his alcoholic father. They get to like each other, but when the boy seeks Joe's protection, things get out of hand.

The main characteristic of the film is the gloomy atmosphere, emphasizing the desolate hopelessness. The cinematography is stark and bare, with only the soundtrack adding some effect. The acting is very effective. Above all the part of the boy's father is worth mentioning. It is played by a local homeless man, who apparently died a few weeks after shooting was finished.

Some reviewers compared 'Joe' tot 'Mud'. An obvious similarity is Tye Sheridan, who plays the same sort of role in both films, as a young kid who befriends an older man. But to me, 'Joe' had much more in common with 'Winter's Bone'. This film was also set in rural America, with Jennifer Lawrence as a teenager trying to keep her dignity in a world of violence and dysfunctional families.