You Were Never Really Here

This brutal, unconventional thriller is the kind of film that avoids clichés at every turn. Dialogue is kept to a minimum. Action sequences are brief and infrequent. The main character is a suicidal killer who bludgeons people with a hammer. His name is Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) and he is hired to rescue a teenage girl (Ekaterina Samsonov) from an upscale brothel. As you might imagine, this leads to violence and bloodshed. Interestingly, though, most of the violence takes place off-screen, while numerous scenes are shot in unusual ways (the rescue is shown via grainy security cameras). In the lead role, Phoenix gives an excellent performance, portraying a man who is haunted by the things he has seen, done and experienced. The film can be confusing and vague, but it is intense and unsettling, offering an alternative for viewers who are tired of conventional thrillers.