You Were Never Really Here (2017)
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A traumatized mercenary is hired to rescue a kidnapped girl in New York City, leading him into a web of corruption and violence.
The story
Joe is a traumatized hired gun who specializes in rescuing trafficked girls, using brutal methods against their captors. He cares for his elderly mother in his childhood home in New York City. Joe has flashbacks of the abuse he and his mother endured from his violent father, and of his brutal past in the military and FBI, and is troubled by suicidal thoughts. As he comes home one night, he is contacted by a middleman. Joe is then assigned a new job from a New York State Senator, who offers a large sum of money to discreetly rescue his abducted daughter, Nina, from a brothel.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Joe is a traumatized hired gun who specializes in rescuing trafficked girls using brutal methods. While caring for his elderly mother in New York City, he is hired by Senator Albert Votto to rescue his kidnapped daughter, Nina. Joe successfully rescues Nina from a brothel, but the Senator is reported dead. During the ensuing chaos, Joe escapes and discovers that government agents have killed his contacts. Upon returning home, he finds his mother murdered by agents. A dying agent reveals that Votto and Governor Williams are involved in a trafficking ring. Joe finds the Governor's house, where he finds a dead Williams and a safe Nina. The two eventually find themselves at a diner, where Nina tells Joe it is a 'beautiful day' before they leave together.
- First release year
- 2017
- Runtime (minutes)
- 90
- Production countries
- United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Lynne Ramsay
- Writers
- Lynne Ramsay · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Joaquin Phoenix · Joe; Dante Pereira-Olson · Young Joe; Ekaterina Samsonov · Nina Votto; Alex Manette · Senator Albert Votto; John Doman · John McCleary; Judith Roberts · Joe's Mother; Alessandro Nivola · Governor Williams; Frank Pando · Angel; Vinicius Damasceno · Moises
- Genres
- neo-noir; crime; psychological thriller
- Themes
- trauma; violence; corruption
- Tone and mood
- tense; intense
- Setting
- New York City and surrounding areas.
- Premise and plot tags
- vigilante; hitman; rescue mission
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2013 novella of the same name by Jonathan Ames
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim, with Lynne Ramsay's direction and Joaquin Phoenix's performance garnering high praise.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 8.3 · scale: 10; Metacritic · score: 84 · scale: 100 · review count: 41
- Production trivia
- The film was released as A Beautiful Day in France and Germany.; The score was composed by Jonny Greenwood.; The film was shot in and around New York City and at Kaufman Astoria Studios.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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