You Were Never Really Here (2017)

You Were Never Really Here (2017) is a lean, brutal thriller about Joe, a traumatized Gulf War veteran who works as a quiet, unflinching hired fixer recovering missing girls. When a job to find the kidnapped 13‑year‑old daughter of a rising politician spirals into a larger conspiracy, Joe plunges into violence and hallucinatory nightmares that blur memory and reality. As the plot tightens, his attempts to save the girl and himself lead to ever more bloody confrontations and a collapse of the boundary between waking and dream. Seeing this film is an immersive, disorienting experience: the pacing is spare but tense, the editing and visual style are fragmentary and dreamlike, and the sound design is abrasive and intimate, pulling you inside Joe’s damaged mind. Joaquin Phoenix delivers a raw, silent‑force performance; director Lynne Ramsay uses minimal dialogue, abrupt bursts of violence, and haunting imagery to build an atmosphere of dread, grief, and suffocating empathy. The film’s conclusion is ambiguous and emotionally devastating, leaving you unsure whether you witnessed a final undoing or a painful catharsis. Content warnings: graphic violence, blood, depictions of sexual exploitation and trauma, and disturbing imagery. Expect a dark, artful, and unsettling viewing that lingers long after it ends.

Actors: Joaquin Phoenix, Judith Roberts, Ekaterina Samsonov

Director: Lynne Ramsay

Runtime: 89 min

Genres: Crime, Drama

5.9 /10 84 /100 6.7 /10 7.0 /10