Joe

In rural Texas, Joe, an ex-convict running a crew that poisons trees, hires fifteen-year-old Gary. The boy's father Wade is an alcoholic and violent. Trying to keep his own anger in check, Joe ends up having to protect him. David Gordon Green directed, from Larry Brown's 1991 novel. Nicolas Cage plays Joe and Tye Sheridan plays Gary. The most striking decision is in the part of Wade. He is played by Gary Poulter, who was homeless and struggling with alcoholism. The producers objected to the casting and Green insisted. Poulter was found dead in a shallow body of water on 19 February 2013, before the film was released. The critic Peter Sobczynski called his work one of the great one-shot performances in the history of cinema. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 30 August 2013, played Toronto, and opened on 11 April 2014. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 86 percent from 137 reviews, with Metacritic at 74. In limited release it grossed 2.4 million dollars. Who it is for: viewers interested in Southern gothic and in Cage when he is serious. Who it is not for: anyone who avoids violence. The father's scenes are direct and long and the film shortens none of them.