Someone struggling to overcome the mistakes of their past, only for their violent impulses to re-emerge in the cause of helping someone else, is a staple of fiction. With Joe, David Gordon Green attempts to put a fresh spin on the idea. Following last month's French version, a new trailer is available over at Apple.
Joe finds Nicolas Cage reining himself in (but only a little) as the titular character: hard-living, hot-tempered, ex-con Joe Ransom, who is just trying to dodge his instincts for trouble – until he meets a hard-luck kid, Gary (Mud’s Tye Sheridan) who awakens in him a fierce and tender-hearted protector. Can this troubled man, trying to make a living after years in prison, overcome those natural tendencies and become the sort of role model Gary needs? You’ll have to see the movie to find out.
Green here is working from Gary Hawkins’ script, itself adapted from Larry Brown’s novel. The film comes wreathed in praise from its festival run at Venice and Toronto, and hits the US on March 9. Joe will be out in the UK on July 25. Here’s hoping it doesn’t get swallowed in the summer scrum.