Little Joe
A 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.
- Director:
- Jessica Hausner ('Lourdes', 'Hotel', 'Lovely Rita')
- Writer:
- Jessica HausnerGéraldine Bajard
- Cast:
- Kerry FoxBen WhishawEmily BeechamPhénix BrossardKit Connor
Reviews & comments
A.V. Club
pressVisually, 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.
Hollywood Reporter
pressA 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.
The Guardian
pressNone 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.
Variety
pressAn artfully unnerving, austerely hypnotic horror movie about a very sinister plant.
A.V. Club
pressVisually, 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.
Hollywood Reporter
pressA 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.
The Guardian
pressNone 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.
Variety
pressAn artfully unnerving, austerely hypnotic horror movie about a very sinister plant.
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