You Were Never Really Here

I've seen a few films by Lynne Ramsay and liked them: Morvern Callar and Ratcatcher, both set in her native Scotland. You Were Never Really Here, from 2017, didn't engage me nearly as much, as I found it an exercise in technique and didn't know what was going on half the time.

Joaquin Phoenix stars as a guy who retrieves young girls from sex-trafficking rings, a rather specialized occupation. On my Netflix envelope the summary reads that his character is an ex-Marine and FBI agent, but I totally missed that. I did catch that he was bullied by his father, particularly about his posture: "Only pussies and little girls slouch." Flashbacks are woven throughout the narrative in dream-like images, and nothing is explained.

So Phoenix, who wears a lumberjack beard and doesn't say much, is hired to bring back the daughter of a state senator. He tracks her to a "playground" and favors a hammer as a weapon. He's shown buying one in a hardware store, so apparently hammers have only so many skull fractures in them. He gets the girl, but then things go wrong, as they of course must.

There are some similarities to Taxi Driver here, as the general feeling of the film is that everyone is a scumbag, even the governor of the state, and Phoenix is hell-bent on cleaning things up, though with a death wish. It also prefigures his turn as Joker, as he cares for a disabled mother. He plays the role as a psychotic killer who has a soft spot for kids and old ladies.

The film just didn't ring true for me. Could a person get into a governor's private house so easily? There are many questions I had after the film was over. Ramsay has a great visual style but the story is incoherent and full of holes. Phoenix, of course, is always good, especially as damaged goods.