You Were Never Really Here

2017 1h 29m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 3,142

CrimeDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Joaquin Phoenix
Joe
Judith Roberts
Joe's Mother
Ekaterina Samsonov
Nina Votto
John Doman
John McCleary
Alex Manette
Senator Albert Votto
Dante Pereira-Olson
Young Joe
Alessandro Nivola
Governor Williams
Larry Canady
Cincinnati Cab Driver

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lynne Ramsay
Writers: Lynne Ramsay
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 55% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 9 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lynne Ramsay, shot by Thomas Townend. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jonny Greenwood. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Joe Bini shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Joaquin Phoenix and Judith Roberts and Ekaterina Samsonov carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lynne Ramsay directs. Thomas Townend behind the camera. Jonny Greenwood scores. Joe Bini cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United Kingdom, France. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Earned back only 55% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 9 years ago.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, France.
5Directed by Lynne Ramsay, shot by Thomas Townend. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Jonny Greenwood. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Joe Bini shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Joaquin Phoenix and Judith Roberts and Ekaterina Samsonov carry the top of the cast.
9IMDB entry: tt5742374 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 19 themes, including "hotel", "new york city", "post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd)", "based on novel or book".

The technical file

Cinematography: Thomas Townend
Original score: Jonny Greenwood
Editing: Joe Bini
Production design: Tim Grimes
Costume design: Malgosia Turzanska
Makeup / hair: Mara Palumbo Capps
VFX supervisor: Nicholas Bennett
Sound: Paul Davies
Stunt coordinator: Chris Colombo
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $17,000,000
Box office: $9,400,000
Return: 55% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: You Were Never Really Here (2017)

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Lynne Ramsay

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Bazzjazz2018-04-20
★ 6/10
The way this movie was hyped up in the press about it being the Next ‘Taxi Driver’obviously raised my expectations and Phoenix being the Antihero ah-la Travis Brickle . Well, did I get letdown like a disappointed kid at Xmas when he didn’t get what he expected. If Phoenix won best actor at the Sundance Festival for his performance in this film. Then I’m decidedly in the wrong profession. He had a one dimensional character, very dark and not much else to him. The hammer being the ‘DIY’ tool of choice , which you never actually see it nailing anything. And there’s no real curiosity or imagination attached to the extent of him using the ‘hammer’. If you haven’t seen ‘The Professional’ With Natalie Portman and Luc Besson and Gary Oldman as a real lunatic cop. Then do yourself a favor and rather watch it. I was largely disappointed in this film and it doesn’t live up to anything it’s primed to. Not Memorable.
Gimly2019-01-20
★ 6/10
I did not feel as positively about You Were Never Really Here as most people seem to have, but I do absolutely recommend it. One of Jaoquin Phoenix's best roles, and that is about as far from small praise as it gets. Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go.
CinemaSerf2025-12-07
★ 7/10
There weren’t a lot of lines for Joaquin Phoenix to learn for this gritty and brutal story of “Joe”. He makes a living retrieving girls who have gone missing - voluntarily or otherwise, and repatriating them. Occasionally this happens straightforwardly, but more frequently this is a violent and dangerous business that sees him having to fend off people both in and out of uniform. It’s this latest job to rescue “Nina” (Ekaterina Samsonov) that is proving to be his most testing and as he struggles to rescue his quarry from a short-lived career in sexploitation, and stay in one piece, he is suddenly immersed in reminiscences of his own turbulent childhood. With his adrenalin all that is keeping him going, might this operation be his undoing or might it be his final victory over a father whose cruelty still haunts this forty-something man? Phoenix is on solid form here, with a less-is-more style of performance that borders on the visceral. His character is as purposeful and focussed as it is confused and traumatised, and I found the lack of dialogue really quite an effective tool as we see a little of what drive this man’s vengeful yet benign actions. It very much hits the ground running, and to be honest it does struggle to sustain the intensity of that pace after about half an hour, but with the emphasis now more on the psychology of his character, I found that I didn’t mind swapping some of established techniques of gory violence with something altogether more menacingly cerebral. Sure, there isn’t a great deal of jeopardy as the plot takes a fairly standard approach to it’s denouement, but it’s certainly never dull. See it in a cinema if you can, the audio is also important at helping create the tense atmosphere and that benefits from a bit of Dolby and you’ll be pleased to read that “Nina” is no shrinking violet, either.