Despite its beauty and some damn fine performances, Little Joe lacks any trepidation and sits in a strange limbo between horror and comedy, never quite deciding what it wants to be. Little Joe is now showing at the BFI London Film Festival 2019.
There is much to love in Jessica Hausner’s first English-language film, Little Joe, from its cinematography to its unconventional score and delightful homage to Day of the Triffids and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. However, despite its glorious visuals and promise, Little Joe sadly never quite reaches its full potential.
Alice (Emily Beecham) is a scientist who has recently divorced and lives alone with her young teenage son, Joe (Kit Conner). At work, Alice is developing a strain of genetically engineered plants alongside her colleague Chris (Ben Whishaw) that produce a scent that makes people happy. That sounds great, right?
Wrong! To ensure the success of her new mood-enhancing plant, Alice breaks the golden rules of biology by accelerating development with no prior testing – she even brings one home, naming it ‘Little Joe’. But while the beautiful red flower of ‘Little Joe’ may look divine, this prime blossom holds a deadly secret as it changes those around it with its ejected pollen.
Hausner bathes Little Joe in sumptuous colour and light while giving her plant a sexual identity as it unfurls.- ‘Little Joe’ is alive, dangerous, and beautiful as it spreads its seed. However, despite its beauty and some damn fine performances, Little Joe lacks any trepidation and sits in a strange limbo between horror and comedy, never quite deciding what it wants to be. It is a profoundly beautiful movie, but it never quite blooms into the science fiction wonder it could have easily been.
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