Little Joe

The story has an interesting premise, and can be quite suspenseful. However, the pace is super slow, which kills the suspense and momentum. The music and the repeating CCTV shot at the plants get tiresome as well. Overall, I couldn't say I enjoyed it.

Jessica Hausner's chilling psychological thriller is visually masterful however lacks a storyline worthy of it. The dizzying camera shots combined with the ominous and unnerving score creates an element of paranoia from the outset. The colours which are at points quite Wes Anderson esque can beautifully slip into the shadowy under belly of Blade Runner (1982). The film centres on Alice who is a single mum and a dedicated breeder at a corporation which genetically engineers plants. She is working on developing a new breed that will control human emotions. Against company policy, she takes one home as a gift for her teenage son and names it after him but soon, though, she starts to fear it. Films and literature throughout history have dealt with the raw unspoilt beauty of flowers and the untold secrets they might hold. Little Joe carries on this tradition. Although the immortal words "Life will find a way" did pop into my head a few times, the film manages to offer up enough which feels different. The theme of mental health, maybe not fully realised, raises some interesting ideas on the subject and the stigma surrounding it. It is also about relationships, which feels more fleshed out but still perhaps not fully explored.Jessica Hausner's eastern European routes and filmmaking style are at odds with the English setting, leaving the viewer with the impression of a tourist eye view of Britain. The acting which was sometimes deliciously creepy and understated, sometimes fell into mockery and felt quite wooden. The saving grace in regards to the acting was Ben Whishaw who was the stand out performance.

Scientists have created a flower that can make people happy. It is clear though that inhaling the pollen has a stronger effect than just that.

Whilst this is an attractive looking film with an interesting idea and a terrifically weird and wonderful score, the storytelling is linear and pretty staid without the twists and turns that could have made everything more interesting. In addition, the acting, whilst in part intended, is also a little too robotic by all involved to make you really care about the direction of travel.

You have to suspend your disbelief to a degree that is almost inhuman. But if you do that, there is quite a lot of entertainment to be found here. The decisions (most of them) of the characters in this movie is really cringe-worthy, to the point where you might not have any feelings for them anymore.

Having said that, it does look good and I do like the actors involved in general. There is not much to spoil once the movie starts, because you should be able to guess everything coming at you from miles away (or kilometres if that's more your liking) ...

This film has several elements that would have made a great 15-20 minute short film. But at feature length it is a long hard receptive slog