You Were Never Really Here
Joaquin Phoenix won Best Actor at Cannes for his role in this thriller from the director of We Need to Talk About Kevin.
"A missing teenage girl. A brutal and tormented enforcer on a rescue mission. Corrupt power and vengeance unleash a storm of violence that may lead to his awakening." (Cannes Film Festival)
- Director:
- Lynne Ramsay ('We Need to Talk About Kevin', 'Morvern Callar', 'Ratcatcher')
- Writer:
- Lynne Ramsay
- Cast:
- Joaquin PhoenixEkaterina SamsonovAlessandro NivolaAlex ManetteJohn DomanJudith RobertsRyan Martin BrownJason Babinsky
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Daniel Rutledge
flicksLynne 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.
Flicks, Luke Buckmaster
flicksTrying 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.
Slow-burn Phoenix
Slow-burn, moody, combat vet rescues kid movies are always in the shadow of Taxi Driver, but director Lynne Ramsey delivers the existential dread in spades. With shades of brutal Brit noirs Get Carter and Mona Lisa, a dash of Man on Fire, and a powerhouse performance by Joaquin Phoenix, it’s mesmerising, dark and broody, but never connects emotionally,...
Vulture
pressYou Were Never Really Here is a powerful assault of a film, but it's missing its director's inimitable poetry.
Variety
pressRamsay has made more sensually rapturous films, but this may be her most formally exacting: No shot or cut here is idle or extraneous.
Total Film
pressLynne Ramsay returns with a scuzzy, stripped-back thriller focused on the man, rather than the mission.
The Times
pressIf 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).
The Telegraph
pressIn these staggeringly taut 85 minutes, Ramsay sees a hopeless universe in a jelly bean.
The Guardian
pressThe ghost of Travis Bickle haunts this nightmarish and humidly absorbing psychological drama from Lynne Ramsay.
New Zealand Herald
pressIt's spellbinding stuff and Ramsay's sensual style of story-telling is undeniably compelling.
Little White Lies
pressYou 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.
Collider
pressTo 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.
Flicks, Daniel Rutledge
flicksLynne 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.
Flicks, Luke Buckmaster
flicksTrying 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.
Vulture
pressYou Were Never Really Here is a powerful assault of a film, but it's missing its director's inimitable poetry.
Variety
pressRamsay has made more sensually rapturous films, but this may be her most formally exacting: No shot or cut here is idle or extraneous.
Total Film
pressLynne Ramsay returns with a scuzzy, stripped-back thriller focused on the man, rather than the mission.
The Times
pressIf 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).
The Telegraph
pressIn these staggeringly taut 85 minutes, Ramsay sees a hopeless universe in a jelly bean.
The Guardian
pressThe ghost of Travis Bickle haunts this nightmarish and humidly absorbing psychological drama from Lynne Ramsay.
New Zealand Herald
pressIt's spellbinding stuff and Ramsay's sensual style of story-telling is undeniably compelling.
Little White Lies
pressYou 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.
Collider
pressTo 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.
Slow-burn Phoenix
Slow-burn, moody, combat vet rescues kid movies are always in the shadow of Taxi Driver, but director Lynne Ramsey delivers the existential dread in spades. With shades of brutal Brit noirs Get Carter and Mona Lisa, a dash of Man on Fire, and a powerhouse performance by Joaquin Phoenix, it’s mesmerising, dark and broody, but never connects emotionally,...
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