Joe
A volatile Texas ex-con finds a fragile chance at redemption while protecting a teenager from a violent alcoholic father.
Overview
A boy's struggle for survival leads to a powerful bond with a troubled man.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- bleak
- melancholic
- gritty
- serious movie night
- independent film viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as an atmospheric, emotionally forceful return to form for Nicolas Cage, anchored by David Gordon Green's direction.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film places family abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and violent retaliation within a harsh Texas landscape.
Joe's bond with Gary awakens his buried humanity and drives him to confront the boy's abusive father.
Gary's destitute family and alcoholic father create the central threat that Joe tries to interrupt.
Burned-out forest labor, rain, rough homes, and isolated Texas surroundings reinforce the film's grounded harshness.
Films like Joe, and why
Mud
shares southern gothic atmosphere, troubled outsiders, rural poverty, and a protective bond between an adult and an endangered teenager
Winter's Bone
shares bleak rural realism, family abuse, coming-of-age tension, and a young protagonist navigating adult danger
The Place Beyond the Pines
shares corrosive masculinity, working-class desperation, alcoholism, and morally complex rural crime drama
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
shares a volatile antihero, bleak social environment, and emotionally intense redemption drama
Movie Details
- Director
- David Gordon Green
- Release Date
- 2014-04-11
- Runtime
- 118 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (1065)
Cast
- Nicolas Cage
- Tye Sheridan
- Ronnie Gene Blevins
- Sue Rock
- Heather Kafka
- Gary Poulter
- Adriene Mishler
- Brenda Isaacs Booth
- Aaron Spivey-Sorrells
- Dana Freitag
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Joe about?
- A volatile Texas ex-con finds a fragile chance at redemption while protecting a teenager from a violent alcoholic father.
- What is Joe like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Joe as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Joe violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Joe as graphic.
- What did critics think of Joe?
- Critics broadly praised the film as an atmospheric, emotionally forceful return to form for Nicolas Cage, anchored by David Gordon Green's direction.
- Which films are like Joe?
- Films with a similar feel include Mud, Winter's Bone, The Place Beyond the Pines, and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.
- How long is Joe?
- Joe runs 118 minutes.
- Where can I watch Joe?
- In United States, Joe streams on Amazon Prime Video, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
