A couple of days ago, I went to see Lynne Ramsay's latest film, You Were Never Really Here, starring one of my all time favourite actors, Joaquin Phoenix - and I loved it. I didn't write a review for the film, as I thought I'd save my thoughts for this article, an analysis of the film, and I felt like coming out of the cinema from it that really left a lot of thoughts to be explored. Ramsay has always made thought provoking films and this one is no different. Whilst I think I should view this film multiple times to possibly decipher every interpretation, I feel like I've got on to something that is quite clear, the central theme. Of course this is up for interpretation, and if you have any other ideas as to what this film suggests, I'd love to hear what you have to say. Spoilers will follow also. So without further ado, let's begin.

So the best thing to really sum up the main theme of the film in my opinion, well I'd look at the title. The title of the film is first shown when Joe gets into the taxi at the beginning of the film. The titles are revealed as the taxi driver mimes the words, blocking out Joe from his line of sight, as he listens to music and does not engage in conversation with him. From this, I believe the film is about isolation and loneliness. And this is best seen in the character of Joe, played amazingly by Phoenix.

Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Joe used to be a solider and was also a former FBI agent. Despite his talents and bravery, Joe is also a very quiet lonely man. Other than his mother who he looks after, Joe doesn't have anyone, and see's his mother as the only person who means something to him. Joe was abused by his father when he was young, and maintains a very fragile and distant personality. His life is mostly told visually rather than through dialogue, with his job being that he rescues young girls that have gone missing and sold to sex rings.

One of the girls that Joe saves that the story primarily focuses on, Nina, is an important character in identifying the themes associated with Joe. Joe rescues Nina from a sex ring but she is quickly stolen back. Between this however, the two begin to bond in a sort of surrogate father type of bond, after her father dies. After Joe's mother is killed, he is left with nothing, and is as lonely as he ever thought he could be. When he goes to drown himself, he see's a vision of Nina, and has an epiphany to rescue her. He realises he needs her, and she needs him. He needs her to quell his loneliness and it is his duty, he was meant for something more. And as for her, she needs him as she is now lost, traumatised and fatherless, and Joe is the only one who takes her out of this, her hero. For Joe, he must father Nina in the best way he can, after the traumatic abuse he went through with his own father - he must do right. They are both characters who have gone through physical and sexual abuse, and now they need one-another more than ever. And of course, Nina, like his mother, acknowledges his presence.

A scene which takes place after the murder of his mother involves Joe killing the murderers in his own home. One of the men dies slowly whilst informing Joe of Nina's status and the conspiracy involving her. He dies as Joe lays next to him, and they hold hands. It's a scene I feel I'll have to watch a few more times, but it's an interesting one. Joe has murdered many people, but in this one instance he lays peacefully with the one who killed his mother. Possibly the last connection to his mother, and due to his admittance, Joe doesn't let him die alone. 

What I think the most important scene of the film is, is without a doubt the ending. Joe and Nina sit in a diner, and Nina goes to the toilet. We then see Joe pull out his gun and shoot himself in the head. A stitched up waitress comes over happily to him and leaves a cheque next to his head as blood spills out. All of a sudden, he is alive, and is just sleeping - and Nina wakes him up. The film ends as they leave the diner as music plays, and we hear background voices and noises throughout the credits. I believe in this dream, after everything Joe has been through and seen (Nina kills her captors brutally to the shock of Joe) he shoots himself to see if anyone will notice him or care. He's lonely, lost, and not a good man due to the things he has done. And of course, in this busy and desolate world nobody cares, but Nina, who wakes him out of the nightmare. 

Similarly to films such as Blue Velvet and American Beauty, You Were Never Really Here dabbles in the idea of the things going on behind the scenes. The harsh reality that child sex rings are right under our noses and government corruption plagues the world - and yet life goes on. A damaged and lonely man, an outside may not seek attention but strives to be the one man who pays attention to these issues, and becomes a murderous yet heroic father figure to Nina. There's still so much to say and I am going to see this again, but these are my thoughts. It's my favourite film of the year so far, and if you have chance to see this - I highly recommend it.