You Were Never Really Here

Name: You Were Never Really Here
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Released: April 6, 2018
Duration: 89 min
Rating: 84
Cast: Alessandro Nivola, Alex Manette, Dante Pereira-Olson, Edward Latham, Ekaterina Samsonov

2018

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 41 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 319 Ratings

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7.3

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7.3	Your Score
7.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 319 Ratings

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You Were Never Really Here (International Trailer)

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Movie Details & Credits

Amazon Studios | Release Date: April 6, 2018 | R

Starring: Alessandro Nivola, Alex Manette, Dante Pereira-Olson, Edward Latham, Ekaterina Samsonov, Frank Pando, Jason Babinsky, Joaquin Phoenix, John Doman, Judith Roberts, Larry Canady, Madison Arnold, Neo Randall, Ryan Martin Brown, Vinicius Damasceno

Summary: A traumatized veteran, unafraid of violence, tracks down missing girls for a living. When a job spins out of control, Joe's nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered leading to what may be his death trip or his awakening.

Director: Lynne Ramsay

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 89 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Guy Lodge

May 27, 2017

Ramsay has made more sensually rapturous films, but this may be her most formally exacting: No shot or cut here is idle or extraneous. Read full review

100

RogerEbert.com Sheila O'Malley

Apr 6, 2018

Based on Jonathan Ames' novella of the same name, the film is rooted so firmly in Joe's point of view he sometimes is absent from the screen entirely. We're inside his head. Read full review

100

Stephanie Zacharek

Apr 12, 2018

Disquieting and skillfully crafted thriller. Read full review

Peter Travers

Apr 4, 2018

Joaquin Phoenix is simply stupendous in You Were Never Really Here. His performance is damn near flammable — dangerous if you get too close. Read full review

Jordan Farley

Mar 5, 2018

Lynne Ramsay returns with a scuzzy, stripped-back thriller focused on the man, rather than the mission. Read full review

E. Oliver Whitney

Apr 11, 2018

You Were Never Really Here isn’t an entirely satisfying experience, and may benefit from multiple viewings, but it’s still a masterful exploration of the nasty ways repressed trauma can resurface, and how violence can become a means of excising the bruises of the past. Read full review

Ann Hornaday

Apr 11, 2018

As beautiful and compelling as Ramsay’s filmmaking and Phoenix’s central performance are, the degree to which viewers will buy You Were Never Really Here depends on the degree to which they accept yet another display of febrile vigilante brutality motivated by sexual violence perpetrated against young girls. One person’s trope, after all, is another’s shopworn cliche. Read full review

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User Reviews

GinaK

Apr 17, 2018

An emotionally shattering film, another masterpiece from Lynne Ramsey (I have never been able to forget her “We Need to Talk about Kevin” – about the devastation and guilt that come from having a son who commits a school massacre). The sadness at the end of this film is overwhelming and youAn emotionally shattering film, another masterpiece from Lynne Ramsey (I have never been able to forget her “We Need to Talk about Kevin” – about the devastation and guilt that come from having a son who commits a school massacre). The sadness at the end of this film is overwhelming and you feel totally drained afterwards. Joaquin Phoenix’s pitch-perfect, deeply moving performance is at the center of a wonderful cast – Joe is a man on a mission – but I won’t say anymore since I don’t want to spoil this wonderful film for you. If you love film, you must see this one.… Expand

6 of 7 users found this helpful61

Habibiehakim

Jan 27, 2022

I must say that in the first 15 minutes i was still processing the movie, in terms of the character and the story, then the mission began, i was able to understand it and into the story, and it was just freakin' amazing till the end of the film, Joaquin Phoenix in one of his bestI must say that in the first 15 minutes i was still processing the movie, in terms of the character and the story, then the mission began, i was able to understand it and into the story, and it was just freakin' amazing till the end of the film, Joaquin Phoenix in one of his best performances, a mesmerising and stunning performance by Ekaterina Samsonov and they're chemistry was just perfect, it's a simple story and if the movie was just follow the basic story there is really nothing special at all, but director Lynne Ramsay didn't leave the real cold-blooded thriller spirit and characteresation backstory from the novel, and it was adapted to the film perfectly, overall, You Were Never Really Here was hell of a great movie.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

DavidWasHere

Oct 17, 2018

Movies like You Were Never Really Here only get good once you finish watching it. Which is a weird compliment, but in this case it is a very high compliment with how many layers and interpretations the film has that after you are done watching you think about what you saw and what it allMovies like You Were Never Really Here only get good once you finish watching it. Which is a weird compliment, but in this case it is a very high compliment with how many layers and interpretations the film has that after you are done watching you think about what you saw and what it all meant. It festers in your subconscious that you can't help but think about it more and more until it finally bursts and you came to a conclusion on what it all meant...until you hear a theory that makes sense that you go mad about if your interpretation is right or if the other person's interpretation is about! That is definitely a high compliment!

Joaquin Phoenix gives a great performance. I won't go as far as to call it his finest work, but he does carry this movie and understands a lot of this character and what the film is getting at. Phoenix is like a chameleon whenever he takes a role. You buy who the character is instead of seeing Joaquin Phoenix, and I bought such an interesting and unique character. Lynne Ramsey also deserves a lot of credit. This is the first movie I seen from her, knowing her from her previous film We Need to Talk About Kevin, one that's been on my watchlist for the longest time. After seeing this movie, I want to watch it. Every shot in this film is crisp and polished, and you get transported in what feels like another world, one that is alien-like but also intense and eerie. There's an atmosphere in this film that is just so off-putting you can't help but be sucked in. A large thanks to this goes to Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood working on the movie score (although it doesn't beat his work with PTA), benefiting with the other worldly score composition. All of which benefits from the brain chewing story where you aren't truly sure what is going on. Like mentioned before, there are so many layers and theories to mull over that it just entices you to truly learn more about what exactly is going on, which makes for a great watch that will surely benefit the more you watch it.

There are a few issues I did take with this film. For one, the first act is pretty sluggish. It takes a while until the movie really gets going, but the first act of the film feels more like a slog to get through. Another issue, and admittingly this one is more nit-picky on my end but I know some would take issue with this, is that it is obvious when people aren't being hit.

Overall, great movie and definitely one I'll be thinking about for a while now. I know this isn't a movie for everyone, so I will say is that if you are interested in watching a slow but interesting psychological crime thriller that will make you ponder, then give this a watch!… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

geewah

Jan 7, 2021

A well constructed thriller that benefits from the casting of Phoenix as the lead. Dark and compelling.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

AMFcritic

Jan 9, 2019

A film that by itself achieves something incredible, submerge us in the mind of an ex-marine with more traumas than memories, and adding the spectacular soundtrack of Jonny Greenwood, this year we have one of the best dramas, mysteries, thrillers with touches of crime. 86.6 / 100 (8)

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

moviemitch96

Apr 20, 2018

What started out as such a smooth, intriguing, and flat out cool and promising first half hour quickly went downhill from there for me unfortunately. The good: Joaquin Phoenix and the cool and eerie soundtrack, as well as some 'Taxi Driver' and 'Drive' vibes. The bad: like I said, the firstWhat started out as such a smooth, intriguing, and flat out cool and promising first half hour quickly went downhill from there for me unfortunately. The good: Joaquin Phoenix and the cool and eerie soundtrack, as well as some 'Taxi Driver' and 'Drive' vibes. The bad: like I said, the first half hour had me so hooked and excited, but after that, the film became very scattershot and aimless, and most of the violent scenes weren't even all that violent or exciting, as it'd always cut away or simply only show the aftermath or the bodies afterwards. Where's the fun in that? And lastly, the ending felt much too open-ended to me, which isn't always a problem for me, but it just didn't work well at all for this film in my opinion. Overall, it was an intriguing concept and had such a cool vibe to it, especially in its first half hour, but it couldn't really keep that momentum or vibe for me much at all after that.… Expand

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

68yrrepts

Aug 26, 2018

This movie was a big piece of **** devastatingly boring. Just watch the trailer and save yourself a call to the suicide hotline

2 of 12 users found this helpful210

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42	#42 Best Movie of 2018
54	#54 Most Discussed Movie of 2018
25	#25 Most Shared Movie of 2018