
The New York Times
Little Joe manages to exert a peculiar pull in spite of being constructed with material you've likely seen elsewhere.
Full reviewA flower engineered to be an anti-depressant brews disastrous side-effects in this Palme d'Or-nominated sci-fi thriller starring Emily Beecham (Hail, Caesar!) and Ben Whishaw (Mary Poppins Returns). From filmmaker Jessica Hausner, writer-director of Venice Film Festival fave Lourdes.
Alice (Beecham) is a single mother and dedicated senior plant breeder at a corporation engaged in developing new species. She has engineered a special crimson flower, remarkable not only for its beauty but also for its therapeutic value: if kept at the ideal temperature, fed properly and spoken to regularly, this plant makes its owner happy. Against company policy, Alice takes one home as a gift for her teenage son, Joe. They christen it ‘Little Joe.’ But as their plant grows, so too does Alice’s suspicion that her new creation may not be as harmless as its nickname suggests.
LessLittle Joe manages to exert a peculiar pull in spite of being constructed with material you've likely seen elsewhere.
Full reviewBy eschewing fast-paced suspense Hausner takes the sting out of her story, instead showcasing a bold aesthetic sense that feels like an exciting taste of what's to come.
Full reviewThis agonisingly slow pseudo sci-fi has camera moves, performances and lines of dialogue that. Seem. To. Take. An. Eternity. To. Deliver. Without. Much. Impact. Or. Dramatic. Pay Off.
Full reviewThe psychothriller mind games get deeper and crazier, giving it some delectable thematic richness.
Full reviewLittle Joe is a masterclass in off-kilter cinematography, and rising and sustained tension...
Full reviewVisually, it’s a total feast for the eyes, contrasting art-deco pinks and mint greens against sterile, symmetrically framed expanses of white, vaguely evoking the aesthetic of some lost sci-fi film of the ’70s.
Full reviewA lifeless, tone-deaf variation on Invasion of the Body Snatchers. ... There’s just nothing going on here with which to engage your interest, nor is there a single moment to even slightly increase the viewer’s pulse rate.
Full reviewNone of this is represented in any compelling dramatic style, and the actors – all very talented and assured – have perhaps not had clear enough direction. It is a mood piece. Whose mood leads nowhere.
Full reviewAn artfully unnerving, austerely hypnotic horror movie about a very sinister plant.
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