KILLER JOE

Chris (Emile Hirsch), a small-time dealer deep in debt, discovers that his mother has stolen his cocaine and hits on an idea: she should die, so the family can collect her life insurance. To arrange it he hires Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a police officer who works as a contract killer on the side. Chris cannot raise the $25,000 advance, so he offers Joe his sister Dottie (Juno Temple) as collateral. His father Ansel (Thomas Haden Church) and stepmother Sharla (Gina Gershon) go along with it, and Joe moves into the family. “Killer Joe” by William Friedkin, USA 2011, after the stage play by Tracy Letts, who also wrote the screenplay.

It is the second collaboration between Friedkin and Letts after “Bug” (2006), a black comedy that does not hide its origins on stage and tips into violence without warning. The premiere took place in Venice on 8 September 2011, where the film won the online critics’ Mouse d’Oro; it did not reach US cinemas until July 2012. The film was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2012.

Shown at the 2012 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2012 · Film Archive