Killer Joe

Be warned this is not a movie for everyone. In fact you'd have to have a pretty sick sense of humor to tolerate the abundance of white trash sleaziness that permeates every frame of this film. So if making light of things like matricide is your cup of tea then by all means. That being said, the film has a power than cannot be denied and reminds me of how people can't turn away from a car wreck, it's just too awful not to see. The acting by all concerned is a tour-de-force. McConaughey is a revelation in the title role, as are both Thomas Haden Church and Emille Hirsch as the father and son who hire Joe to kill their ex wife/mother for the insurance money. Juno Temple as the virgin sister who catches Joe's eye and Gina Gershon as the stepmom also turn in riveting performances. It is not an easy film to watch, with at least one scene that ranks as one of the most shockingly uncomfortable in recent memory, yet it is also quite funny at times. A truly original, if seriously twisted, mosaic on the just plain awfulness of people.