At the opening gala of this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, William Friedkin took the stage to commend the festival’s artistic director Chris Fujiwara on his bravery in opening with the controversial Killer Joe, while also begging Gina Gershon’s fiancé in the audience to not punch him in the chest once he had finally seen it. Those two things alone say a lot about what to expect from Killer Joe, maybe more aptly than its official blurb. The premise is that 22-year old drug dealer Chris Smith (Emile Hirsch) hires a man to kill his mother for her $50,000 insurance policy while handing over his virgin teenage sister as a retainer for the $25,000 fee. It could, perhaps, have been interpreted relatively tastefully, but Friedkin’s take on it is dark and uncompromising – and all the better for it.

The black comedy which works its way into the film takes it to the next level; unlike many other films, which use outright gore or try to make a “so bad it’s good” experience, Killer Joe marries moments of traditional comedy to violent or otherwise unsettling scenes. The most ridiculous ideas are made into disturbing, iconic scenes, and what I’ll refer to only as “the fried chicken scene” will leave a lasting impact on even the most hardened of film-goers (and may even put them off KFC for weeks). Juno Temple also pushes the letter in the role of young sister Dottie, whose involvement is unhealthy to say the least, but rendered poignant by her fantastic performance.

Pictured (left): Emile Hirsch as Chris (left) and Juno Temple as Dottie (right).

“a watershed

in mature

filmmaking and

a powerful noir

for which we’ve

had to wait far

too long”

That said, the irrefutable star of the show is Matthew McConaughey as the eponymous hitman Joe Cooper. He delivers every line perfectly with a disturbingly serious and controlled tone of voice that stands apart from the remaining cast of trailer park alcoholics. You soon become aware of his subtle mannerisms, such as turning off the television every time he enters the Smith family trailer, and how these change and manifest over the course of the film indicate an expertly expressed progression of his character, especially as the original plan starts to fall apart. The fragile relationships and conflicted interests between characters creates a tense atmosphere which keeps the action consistently unpredictable.

If anything else can be said of Killer Joe, it’s that it’s smarter than it first appears. While its charm lies in its dialogue and its stellar cast, its script is nowhere near as straightforward as the premise would lead you to believe. The graphic nature of the film, which earned it a NC-17 age certificate in the United States, also contributes to its impact; there’s no saturation of gore, for the most part, but still enough strong sex, profanity, and occasional touches of murder and beatings to unsettle the audience and drive the film’s points. The ambiguous ending also gives viewers something to think about: it’s incredibly intense and then it’s over, and the raucous applause and laughter that followed at the premiére highlighted how perfectly timed it was.

If you’re a sensitive individual, Killer Joe will almost definitely shock you, but that’s no surprise, coming from the infamous William Friedkin. A more seasoned cinephile will find more to enjoy than to be offended by, although Friedkin himself suggests that it’s not a film that audiences should so much enjoy rather than “feel challenged by”, and while humour was pervasive in the film, that feels like an apt recommendation for its darker sequences. For all that controversy and debated obscenity, though, Killer Joe is an impressive cinematic feat. With Hollywood under the thumb of the MPAA and fewer directors than ever afraid to experiment, Friedkin’s work feels like a watershed in mature filmmaking and a powerful noir for which we’ve had to wait far too long. For it to go unnoticed on its release would be a tragedy.