You Were Never Really Here

"Lynne Ramsay is an extraordinary filmmaker. The disjointed, dream-like editing style she uses is reminiscent of Jean-Marc Vallée—only instead of evoking beauty, she creates disturbing screen nightmares. You Were Never Really Here, her latest, upends the classic tale of a hitman with a heart of gold, stripping all romanticism out of it to present an ugly look at broken people doing terrible things to other broken people."

"Trying to keep track of the number of soul-piercing stares in a Joaquin Phoenix performance is like counting the whiskers in his beard: not for the short on time or, due to sheer volume, the sound of mind. Given the actor’s unnerving ability to generate swelling intensity – like a kind of possessed human radiator – and his predilection for playing social misfits, he is a natural fit for the role of a misanthropic hitman."

"You Were Never Really Here is a powerful assault of a film, but it's missing its director's inimitable poetry."

"Ramsay has made more sensually rapturous films, but this may be her most formally exacting: No shot or cut here is idle or extraneous."

"Lynne Ramsay returns with a scuzzy, stripped-back thriller focused on the man, rather than the mission."

"If you're still with the movie after the first ten minutes you're probably with it for the long haul (and possibly for life - it lingers)."

"In these staggeringly taut 85 minutes, Ramsay sees a hopeless universe in a jelly bean."

"The ghost of Travis Bickle haunts this nightmarish and humidly absorbing psychological drama from Lynne Ramsay."

"It's spellbinding stuff and Ramsay's sensual style of story-telling is undeniably compelling."

"You Were Never Really Here presents as Ramsay's first genre offering, ramping up the body count and bloodshed, while maintaining her usual focus on unusual characters."

"To watch Phoenix, an actor at the height of his dramatic powers, on screen and under Ramsey's direction makes You Were Never Really Here something of a must-see."