The New York Times
Little Joe manages to exert a peculiar pull in spite of being constructed with material you've likely seen elsewhere.
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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.
2019Rating: M, Violence & offensive language105 minsAustria, Germany, UK
Science FictionFestival & Independent
- Director:
- Jessica Hausner ('Lourdes', 'Hotel', 'Lovely Rita')
- Writer:
- Jessica HausnerGéraldine Bajard
- Cast:
- Kerry FoxBen WhishawEmily BeechamPhénix BrossardKit Connor
Little Joe / Reviews
Empire Magazine
By 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.
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The Times
This 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.
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Decider
The psychothriller mind games get deeper and crazier, giving it some delectable thematic richness.
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Stuff
Little Joe is a masterclass in off-kilter cinematography, and rising and sustained tension...
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A.V. Club
Visually, 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.
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Hollywood Reporter
A 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.
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The Guardian
None 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.
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Variety
An artfully unnerving, austerely hypnotic horror movie about a very sinister plant.
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