The MoFo Top 100 Neo-noir Countdown

Master of None

03-30-24

You Were Never Really Here is the third film directed by a female (Lynne Ramsay) to show up in the countdown. The other two were Bound (The Wachowskis, #59) and Strange Days (Kathryn Bigelow, #65).

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Miss Vicky

MoFo's Resident Bitch

03-30-24

You Were Never Really Here is a really haunting and beautiful, if brutal film, with a really incredible performance from Joaquin Phoenix. I've watched it many times and there was never any question about its inclusion for me once I knew it was eligible. I had it all the way up at #2.

Here's what I wrote when I rewatched it for the 2010s countdown:

Originally Posted by Miss Vicky

You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay, 2017)
(Rewatch)

Like another, better known (and Oscar winning) Joaquin Phoenix role, You Were Never Really Here is a character study of a man struggling with psychological trauma and social isolation who turns to violence as a means of coping.

But this is a very different sort of film. The violence is not cathartic for either the audience or the film's protagonist. Indeed, we often don't even get to witness his acts of brutality, but instead only get to see the aftermath. And whereas that other film (which I'll likely be watching next) is a bit showy and bombastic, this film is quiet and meditative and its central performance hinges on subtlety. Dialogue is sparse and the film always keeps its audience at arm's length, and yet even so I feel very much connected to it because we also get small glimpses of this man's humanity and capacity for gentleness - stopping to pet a cat or offering comfort and pain relief to a dying man that he's just shot.

It's a wonderful showcase for Phoenix's talent and a very unique and engrossing film to watch. It's also a lock for my ballot and I'll be very disappointed if it fails to make the countdown proper.

My Ballot:
2. You Were Never Really Here (#50)
3. The Man From Nowhere (#87)
4. The Departed (#53)
7. True Romance (#60)
12. Shutter Island (#86)
17. Killer Joe (2011) (#66)

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Harry Lime

BANNED FROM VIENNA

03-30-24

You Were Never Really Here is a good film and I think the most recent movie to make the countdown so far? Phoenix is amazing as always and while I liked it I still prefer the Lynne Ramsay's other work over this one. As for Get Carter I definitely prefer the Sly Stallone version...but really Michael Caine in a neo noir from the seventies as a gangster seeking vengeance for his brother's - tough to make a bad movie here...

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Little Ash

he/him

03-30-24

Two movies I have not seen, but would probably enjoy.

Torgo

Mu-Tant

03-30-24

Get Carter is #18 on my list. Not much to stay about it, but...Caine. He's pretty damn intimidating in it. If I knew he were after me, I'd probably need a new pair of pants and I'd be on a bus to the nearest coastal city. He may even out-intimidate Lee Marvin in Point Blank.

Hey Fredrick

Registered User

03-30-24

"I heard you were brutal... I want you to hurt them." I'm sold. You Were Never Really Here made my list at 19. Joaquin is one of those actors that never gives a bad performance and if he does I haven't seen it yet. This is one of my favorite performances from him. He is completely believable as a veteran with PTSD who hunts down missing girls and doles out justice with a hammer - a tool that's one step above the rock on the evolutionary scale of tools. He doesn't get medieval on their asses, he gets prehistoric. The movie is much more than find bad guy, beat bad guy to pulp, though. It's a real character study of a traumatized dude. This is one hurting individual. It's not the most uplifting film so unless you found that special someone probably not a good first date film but oh so worth it.

After seeing all the movies that are considered noir I can't wait to redo my list when this is over. So far my guess is half the films on my ballot would have been left off for something else. I never looked at TMDb for eligibility. Whoops!

LAMb EELYAK

The First Kaiju

03-30-24

Originally Posted by LAMb EELYAK

Seen 20/50.

12. The Dark Knight #61
18. Shutter Island #86
25. The Little Things - One-pointer

Fun facts about the reveals from my ballot so far: I didn't like The Dark Knight when I first saw it. I avoided Shutter Island for over a decade because the trailer put me off so much (and played before every movie i went to for months). The Little Things is the only movie I've walked out on in the theater. (When ya gotta go...)

Miss Vicky

MoFo's Resident Bitch

03-30-24

I forgot to mention, I've seen Get Carter and even voted for it for the 70s Countdown, but I don't really remember it. I haven't seen either of yesterday's movies.

John-Connor

Registered User

03-30-24

SEEN: 47/52
BALLOT: 6/25

25. Mirage (1965)
22. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
17. The Driver (1978)
11. Get Carter (1971)
08. The Hot Spot (1990)
04. One False Move (1992)

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honeykid

MoFo Whisperer

03-30-24

Originally Posted by Thief

We're at the halfway mark and, somewhat in line to what I said yesterday and in the opening post about "what's neo-noir?" and "what's not?", I wanted to ask... after 50 films, what are some common threads you can see tying all, or most, of these films together? Common themes, archetypes, plot devices?

Also, what has been your biggest positive surprise yet? That film you really didn't expect to show up and yet TA-DAAA! There it was.

Here's what I've learned.
1. I don't know what neo-noir is.
2. You don't know what neo-noir is.
3. No one knows what neo-noir is.

Had I known Get Carter counted, I'd have probably had it top 3.

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

You Were Never Really Here is a good film and I think the most recent movie to make the countdown so far? Phoenix is amazing as always and while I liked it I still prefer the Lynne Ramsay's other work over this one. As for Get Carter I definitely prefer the Sly Stallone version...but really Michael Caine in a neo noir from the seventies as a gangster seeking vengeance for his brother's - tough to make a bad movie here...

Excuse me, what now?... There are no words....

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SpelingError

AKA Popcorn Reviews

03-30-24

You Were Never Really Here is very good, but it didn't make my ballot. I think it was one of the late cuts.

Get Carter is very good as well.

WHITBISSELL!

Registered User

03-30-24

Wait. So if you watch a noir that made the countdown you're able to add it to your tally of movies seen? That doesn't seem kosher. Shouldn't there at least be an asterisk or something?

WHITBISSELL!

Registered User

03-30-24

Originally Posted by honeykid

Had I known Get Carter counted, I'd have probably had it top 3.

I feel your pain. #3 is exactly where I placed Get Carter on my ballot.

Originally Posted by honeykid

Excuse me, what now?... There are no words....

I have to agree.

WHITBISSELL!

Registered User

03-30-24

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

You Were Never Really Here is a good film and I think the most recent movie to make the countdown so far? Phoenix is amazing as always and while I liked it I still prefer the Lynne Ramsay's other work over this one. As for Get Carter I definitely prefer the Sly Stallone version...but really Michael Caine in a neo noir from the seventies as a gangster seeking vengeance for his brother's - tough to make a bad movie here...

WHITBISSELL!

Registered User

03-30-24

The nitty is getting gritty. 2 for 2 and they're both on my list. You Were Never Really Here is my #2. I've only seen it once which I consider a huge transgression on my part. I've mentioned how Joaquin Phoenix has become a go-to actor for me and this is one of the roles that convinced me.

It's immediately followed on my ballot by my #3 Get Carter. That entire movie is a vibe. From the antithesis-of-picture-postcard locales to the regional dialects to the cinematography to the mod fashions and Michael Caine's cold and hollowed out antihero. It's like a how-to for an unpretentious British gangster film.

30 of 52 seen.

stillmellow

Msg

Basic Non-B

03-30-24

Dang, I didn't think of You Were Never Really Here as neo-noir, but I can see how it counts. I love that movie. It probably would've been on my list, in the 5-10 range.

It joins Manhunter as my list's 'could've beens'.

Seen 26 out of 52.

cricket

Msg

Registered User

03-30-24

I like Get Carter but didn't care for Never Really Here

Harry Lime

BANNED FROM VIENNA

03-30-24

Just in case my statement where I claim preference to the Sly Stallone version of Get Carter wasn't absurd enough for people to never take it seriously I will clarify here and now that in no way shape or form do I prefer or even like the Sly Stallone version of Get Carter. Thank you for your time.

Thief