Joe (2013)

Starring: Nicholas Cage & Tye Sheridan

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

In this remake of a 1970 film by the same name, Nicholas Cage plays Joe, an ex-con and unlikely hero to a fifteen year old boy. The story is called Joe, and you'll figure out why by the end, but to be honest, I saw this film more as a coming of age story, with the majority of the focus on Gary (Tye Sheridan). Gary's family is difficult to say the least, both his parents are drug addicts, and it's up to him to earn a living to support his sister. One day while out in the woods, he comes across Joe, a man who owns a lumber company and persuades him to give him a job. Gary is a hard worker who comes to see his boss as more of a father figure than his own father, and when things get bad, he's turns to Joe for help. Joe is no saint though, as he has his own criminal past and is reluctant to get involved. This is one of these really dark, slow moving dramas, where everything may or may not be important to the story. The real action is spaced out, but when something happens, the intensity is off the charts. This film is very similar to, Winter's Bone, which also had a young lead trying to save her siblings. While Tye Sheridan is not Jennifer Lawrence, his more quiet demeanor makes him more likable in the eyes of the viewer. Sheridan is a kid who came out of nowhere to star in the independent film, Mud, and since then has become known for making these super dark, intense films, where he plays a quiet, reserved character that one can't help but root for. Nicholas Cage is equally as good in a role that is more dramatic than most of things he's done lately. That being said, Cage still has it and together with Sheridan make for one of the most interesting and unique films I've seen all year. The story and even the trailer seem to be a little dull, most people will look at this film and see it as too slow and dramatic, and at first, I thought so too, but as the film progresses it just gets better and better, ascending to the level of a must see movie.