Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Joe Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 4, 2015

Winner of Marcello Mastroianni Award and Christopher D. Smithers Foundation Special Award at the Venice Film Festival, David Gordon Green's "Joe" (2013) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon Film World/Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and making of featurette. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"I just wanna know... Why you wanna go back, Joe?"

Joe (Nicolas Cage) is a white ex-con trying to live a simple life in a small town somewhere down South. Each morning he drives his old beat up truck to the only grocery store in the area where he picks up a small group of black ex-cons and then they go to work -- they “kill” trees for a large lumber company in the nearby forest. It is hard work and the pay isn’t great, but no one complains.

One day, Joe is approached by 15-year-old Gary (Tye Sheridan, Mud, The Tree of Life), who wants to find a job to help his family put food on the table. Joe hires Gary and he quickly proves to him that he can count on him. With his first paycheck, however, Gary also earns a good beating from his alcoholic father (a phenomenal Gary Poulter).

Meanwhile, a stranger (Ronnie Gene Blevins, Seven Psychopaths) with a scar on his face shoots Joe in the arm and he goes berserk. During the chaos, Joe hurts a couple of police officers, threatens to kill Gary’s abusive father, and loses his beloved dog.

Based on the novel by Larry Brown, David Gordon Green’s Joe is a disturbingly violent yet notably poetic film about a good man trying to rebuild his life after a series of painful failures. It is also about a part of America that is rarely, if ever, shown as is in big-budget films.

Cage is the heart and soul of the film. During the first half he looks jaded and at peace with the place he calls home. He is just another loner there who has earned the respect of the people around him and no one bothers him. At times he feels lonely, but he does not want anyone to have an important role in his life. When he needs a woman, he pays for a quick session at the local brothel.

When Gary appears, the awkward balance in Joe’s life is suddenly disrupted. First he feels a genuine urge to help the boy, and later on seeks his friendship. A father-son relationship is established and Joe is forced to react in ways that attract the wrong kind of attention to him. This is when the ugliness of the world he exists in is exposed, and at this point Joe is no longer willing to tolerate it. He understands that he isn’t going to survive because the system isn’t willing to tolerate people like him either, but he does not care.

At some point, all of the main characters in the film -- Joe, Gary, his abusive father, the man with the scar, and even the police chief -- are given litmus tests that make them realize that they have tolerated evil. The casual manner in which these realizations are revealed as well as the reactions they prompt are what make this film so powerful.

Cage and Sheridan are excellent together. In fact, this may well be Cage’s second best performance after his superb work in Mike Figgis’ Leaving Las Vegas. The supporting cast -- featuring a number of non-professional actors -- is equally impressive. Unfortunately, Poulter, a homeless man who was hired by director Gordon Green to play Gary’s father, died on the streets of Austin shortly after the film was completed.

Joe Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, David Gordon Green's Joe arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon Film World/Artificial Eye.

Shot with the Arri Alexa Plus camera, the film has the appropriate clean and smooth appearance. Detail and clarity are outstanding, even in areas of the film where light is restricted, while fluidity is wonderful. The daylight outdoor sequences, in particular, look very impressive. Many of the well-lit close-ups can be mistaken for digital photographs. Colors are lush, stable and natural. Overall image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no encoding anomalies to report in this review. All in all, this is a wonderful technical presentation of Joe which makes it very easy to appreciate the unique style and vision of the film's creators. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Joe Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Curzon Film World/Artificial Eye have not provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The film has a very effective organic sound design -- random nature sounds and noises further enhance the tense atmosphere without ever becoming distracting. Jeff McIlwain and David Wingo's ambient soundtrack has a very important role, through it is also used primarily to support specific aspects of the existing atmosphere. I viewed the film with the 5.1 track and can confirm that it certainly opens up the film far better than the 2.0 track, but you should not expect to hear impressive surround movement. The dialog is crisp, clean, and stable, but optional English SDH subtitles should have been included as some viewers might have trouble with a few of the thicker accents.

Joe Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Joe. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Making of Featurette - in this featurette, director David Gordon Green explains how Joe came to exist and the type of atmosphere he wanted the film to have, while Nicolas Cage and Tye Sheridan discuss the shooting process and some of the key qualities of their characters. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

Joe Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Joe is David Gordon Green's best work to date. It is easy to tell that it was a very personal project for him and the end result is absolutely fantastic. Frankly, I don't know if there is another contemporary American director that consistently sees and films the South as well as Gordon Green does. If you don't yet have Joe in your collections, I urge you to consider purchasing a copy. As far as I am concerned, it is one of 2014's best American films. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.