fuuuuckkkk yes.

Lynne Ramsay directing Joaquin Phoenix in a *super* art house TAKEN (complete with POINT BLANK stylings) that's glazed with Jonny Greenwood's best score to date. obviously hacked within an inch of its life but the skeleton is fascinating. i wanted to watch this over from the start as soon as it ended.

Watched at Midtown Art Cinema in Atlanta.

Of course I'm happy I saw this on the big screen but for someone who has a true affinity for genre films, I thought I'd like this alot more. Wish it was more of the RATCATCHER/MOVERN CALLAR Ramsay and less the WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN Ramsay.

Really impressed with the cinematography by Thomas Townend, production design by Tim Grimes, editing by Joe Bini and of course the great score by Jonny Greenwood.

A radical deconstruction of the action genre and what we've come to expect from our heroes. Fantasy, flashback and reality are all swirled together, a trauma-saturated past manifesting as shard of glass in the soul. The question of "did that really happen?" has never been less important. Ramsay owns this film, particularly in her writing. Phoenix is good, but it's the absolutely impeccable editing that creates his powerful performance. Though there's minimal dialogue, the impressionistic soundscape paired with Jonny Greenwood's pulsating score makes this film feel anything but quiet.  

How can a man save anyone else when he cannot save himself?

Rating: 92/100

I can't breathe.

My heart doesn't feel like it's there. My breathing is speeding up by the second and my fingers keep trembling. My body hurts, my legs are numb, and I feel like I'm losing my mind.

I've never felt like this before. I've never seen something that makes my body feel different, or something that makes my heart skip a beat. With every moment in this film my eyes began to sob more, and with every second home You Were Never Really Here stayed in my head. 

I will eventually write something decent on this but right now I can't even read my own head. I will try. I just need to breathe.

Some stories I like to see redone with a new twist, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this story too many times. However, Jaoquin Phoenix's performance was so impressive.

An exercise in contrast and restraint. Ramsay often satiates our desire for thriller conventions with driving drums and analog synths on the soundtrack before suddenly pulling them away with a blast of dissonant strings and a sudden glimpse of Joe's trauma.

There's so much here that goes unspoken or isn't shown and it's all the stronger for it. It manages, despite most of the horrific violence taking place offscreen, to still be intensely unsettling with an oppressive atmosphere throughout.

It's an accomplished exploration of the way that violence perpetuates itself and the scars that it leaves behind. I need to go back and watch the two Ramsay movies I haven't seen asap.

There isn’t an unusable frame or wasted second in this jarring thriller by Lynne Ramsey. With a thoroughly haunting soundtrack by Johnny Greenwood (as always) and once again a killer performance by the lead, this movie is suspenseful until the end. Heads up, contains subject material that could easily upset anyone, so there are some big violence and abuse trigger warnings here. 

One of the best films of 2017, I cannot put into words how deeply affecting this film was to me. Absolutely beautiful, filmmaking at its absolute best, made me heart weep for months after.

The lake scene is still and will always be cinematic perfection.  

🔨

Joaquin Phoenix is an absolute beast.

I enjoyed it for its low-key minimalism.

Taxi-Driver fan fic that is totally lacking in self-awareness or originality. How people saw a good film in this is beyond me.

Striking visual, great sound and music.