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
From metacritic.com
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Title: Joe (2013)
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4 wins & 9 nominations.
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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 | |
Learn more
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
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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. Written by statmanjeff
Plot Keywords:
alcoholic | cigarette smoking | woods | father son relationship | teenage boy |Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated R for violence, disturbing material, language and some strong sexual content | See all certifications »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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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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Written by Weston Cage Coppola
Performed by Eyes of Noctum
Published by Sonitus Noir Music (BMI)
Courtesy of Morbid Rose Records
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Nicolas Cage described his performance as naked saying that Joe character is very close to him and he didn't need to act. See more »Goofs
When Joe and Gary are looking for the dog, Gary climbs into the driver's seat of the truck. When they arrive, Joe is driving. See more »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, ...
[...]
See more »
Soundtracks
AnnihilateWritten by Weston Cage Coppola
Performed by Eyes of Noctum
Published by Sonitus Noir Music (BMI)
Courtesy of Morbid Rose Records
See more »
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
11 April 2014 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Joe See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$4,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend USA:
$105,881, 13 April 2014Gross USA:
$373,375Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$2,431,443Company Credits
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Dolby DigitalColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1Contribute to This Page
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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.