You Were Never Really Here - wikipedia You Were Never Really Here You Were Never Really Here Theatrical release poster Directed by Lynne Ramsay Produced by Rosa Attab Pascal Caucheteux James Wilson Lynne Ramsay Screenplay by Lynne Ramsay Based on You Were Never Really Here by Jonathan Ames Starring Joaquin Phoenix Ekaterina Samsonov Alex Manette John Doman Judith Roberts Music by Jonny Greenwood Cinematography Thomas Townend Edited by Joe Bini Production company Film4 Productions British Film Institute Why Not Productions Page 114 Distributed by Amazon Studios Release date 27 May 2017 ( 2017 - 05 - 27 ) ( Cannes ) 8 November 2017 ( 2017 - 11 - 08 ) ( France ) 9 March 2018 ( 2018 - 03 - 09 ) ( UK ) 6 April 2018 ( 2018 - 04 - 06 ) ( US ) Running time 90 minutes Country United Kingdom France United States Language English Box office $5.6 million You Were Never Really Here is a 2017 thriller film written and directed by Lynne Ramsay, and based on the book of the same name by Jonathan Ames. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov, Alex Manette, John Doman, and Judith Roberts. An unfinished version of the film premiered at the 70th Cannes Film Festival in competition, where Ramsay won the Best Screenplay award and Phoenix won the award for Best Actor. The film was released by Studio Canal in the UK, on 9 March 2018, and by Amazon Studios in the U.S., where it began a limited release in Los Angeles and New York on 6 April 2018, and a wide release on 20 April. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 5 References 6 External links Plot Joe, a combat veteran and former FBI agent with post-traumatic stress disorder, is a hired gun who rescues trafficked girls, using brutal methods against those responsible. He cares for his elderly mother in his childhood home in New York City. Joe has graphic flashbacks to his childhood and past in the military and FBI. While returning home from a job, Joe is spotted by the son of Angel, the middleman between Joe and McCleary, his handler. Joe meets with McCleary, and expresses his concerns about his safety potentially being compromised due to Angel 's son being aware of his address. McCleary then informs Joe of his next job : a New York State Senator, Albert Votto, has offered a large sum of money to discreetly find and rescue his abducted daughter, Nina. Accepting the job, Joe stakes out a brothel for wealthy patrons, the address of which was received by Votto in an anonymous text message. Joe violently kills several security guards and patrons while recovering Nina. While waiting at a motel to return Nina to Votto, Joe sees local news reports that Votto has apparently committed suicide. Police officers then storm the motel room and take Nina. Joe overpowers an officer who is guarding him and escapes. Joe finds that McCleary, Angel, and Angel 's son have all been killed in search of his home address. Sneaking into his family home, Joe discovers that two federal agents have murdered his mother and are waiting for him. He ambushes them, killing one and mortally wounding the other. The wounded killer reveals that the whole conspiracy was orchestrated by Governor Williams, and that Nina was `` his favorite. '' Distraught and suicidal, Joe gives his mother a water burial. He attempts to drown himself by loading his clothes with heavy stones, but a vision of Nina convinces him to save the girl. Joe attempts to piece together the conspiracy. He concludes that Votto sold Nina into prostitution to gain favor with Governor Williams and other elites, and later felt extreme guilt after receiving the anonymous text ; Votto hired Joe since he knew that the police force was under Williams ' control. After following Williams back to his country house, Joe fights his way in only to discover that Williams 's throat has been slit. Joe wanders the mansion, distressed and hallucinating, before finding Nina in the kitchen with a bloody straight razor. They are relieved to see each other and leave the mansion. Later, Joe and Nina are in a diner, sitting silently. Joe collapses out of exhaustion and stress while having a violent suicidal fantasy. Nina wakes Joe, telling him, `` It 's a beautiful day. '' Joe agrees and they leave together. Cast Joaquin Phoenix as Joe Ekaterina Samsonov as Nina Votto Alex Manette as Senator Albert Votto John Doman as John McCleary Judith Roberts as Joe 's Mother Alessandro Nivola as Governor Williams Production On 11 May, 2016, it was reported that Lynne Ramsay would write and direct an adaptation of Jonathan Ames ' novella You Were Never Really Here, starring Joaquin Phoenix. The project would be shopped to Cannes buyers. Although it was initially reported that A24 had acquired the project, Amazon Studios bought U.S. rights to You Were Never Really Here on 13 May, 2016. Principal photography took place during August 2016 in and around New York City. On 2 May 2017, it was confirmed that composer Jonny Greenwood would score the film. The film was still a work in progress when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 27 May, 2017. Reception You Were Never Really Here received a three - minute standing ovation at its Cannes Film Festival premiere on 27 May 2017. Critics lauded Phoenix 's performance, Ramsay 's direction, musical score, and editing. Phoenix won the festival 's Best Actor Award and Lynne Ramsay won the Best Screenplay Award. The film received an 86 % approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 168 reviews with an average rating of 8.1 / 10. The website 's critical consensus reads, `` Bracingly elevated by a typically committed lead performance from Joaquin Phoenix, You Were Never Really Here confirms writer - director Lynne Ramsay as one of modern cinema 's most unique -- and uncompromising -- voices. '' It holds a score of 84 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 41 critics, indicating `` universal acclaim ''. Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com gave the film 4 stars, saying that the film `` is a taut and almost unbearably intense 90 - minutes, without an ounce of fat on it. Ramsay does n't give you a second to breathe. '' Guy Lodge for Variety said Ramsay may be the world 's `` greatest working filmmaker '', and called it `` astonishing... a stark, sinewy, slashed - to - the - bone hitman thriller far more concerned with the man than the hit. '' Joseph Walsh for The Skinny gave the film a rating of five stars out of five and states `` You Were Never Really Here is a brutal, punishing watch, but every minute is a masterclass in filmmaking. It 's like a one - inch - punch to the gut, winding you from the start and giving you no respite. This exquisite examination of suffering will leave you staggering from the cinema ''. Matt Bobkin for Exclaim ! gave the film a 9 out of 10 score, describing it as `` dizzying, horrifying and utterly compelling. '' References Jump up ^ `` A Beautiful Day ''. Centre National de la Cinématographie. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2018. Jump up ^ `` You Were Never Really Here ''. The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Retrieved 28 May 2018. Jump up ^ `` The 2017 Official Selection ''. Cannes Film Festival. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017. Jump up ^ Winfrey, Graham ( 13 April 2017 ). `` 2017 Cannes Film Festival Announces Lineup : Todd Haynes, Sofia Coppola, ' Twin Peaks ' and More ''. IndieWire. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 13 April 2017. Jump up ^ Debruge, Peter ( 28 May 2017 ). `` 2017 Cannes Film Festival Award Winners Announced ''. Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 28 May 2017. Jump up ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony ( 2 October 2017 ). `` Joaquin Phoenix Noir ' You Were Never Really Here ' Gets February Release ''. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 2 October 2017. Jump up ^ Calvario, Liz ( 11 May 2016 ). `` Joaquin Phoenix To Star In Lynne Ramsay 's Sex Trafficking Thriller ' You Were Never Really Here ' ''. IndieWire. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 23 August 2016. Jump up ^ Keslassy, Elsa ; Setoodeh, Ramin ( 13 May 2016 ). `` Cannes : Amazon Sweeps in To Buy Joaquin Phoenix 's ' You Were Never Really Here ' ''. Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 23 August 2016. Jump up ^ Christine ( 18 August 2016 ). `` Thursday, Aug. 18 Filming Locations for Spider - Man : Homecoming, Chicago Fire, Homeland, Bull, & more ! ''. On Location Vacations. Retrieved 23 August 2016. Jump up ^ Lyttelton, Oliver ( 2 May 2017 ). `` Jonny Greenwood Scoring Lynne Ramsay 's ' You Were Never Really Here ' With Joaquin Phoenix ''. IndieWire. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 2 May 2017. Jump up ^ Romney, Jonathan ( 27 May 2017 ). `` You Were Never Really Here review : Joaquin Phoenix storms Lynne Ramsay 's kidnap thriller ''. Sight & Sound. British Film Institute. Retrieved 19 January 2018. Jump up ^ Pritchard, Tiffany ( 30 May 2017 ). `` Lynne Ramsay : ' You Were Never Really Here ' is n't finished ''. Screen Daily. Screen International. Retrieved 19 January 2018. Jump up ^ Cannes reception : D'Alessandro, Anthony ( 28 May 2017 ). `` How Lynne Ramsay Got Over ' Jane Got A Gun ' & Embraced Joaquin Phoenix Noir ' You Were Never Really Here ' -- Cannes ''. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 28 May 2017. Kiang, Jessica ( 26 May 2017 ). `` Lynne Ramsay 's Extraordinary ' You Were Never Really Here ' Starring Joaquin Phoenix ( Cannes Review ) ''. The Playlist. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 28 May 2017. Jump up ^ `` You Were Never Really Here ( 2018 ) ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Jump up ^ `` You Were Never Really Here Reviews ''. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 23 March 2018. Jump up ^ O'Malley, Sheila ( 6 April 2018 ). `` You Were Never Really Here ''. RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Retrieved 13 April 2018. Jump up ^ Lodge, Guy ( 26 May 2017 ). `` Film Review : ' You Were Never Really Here ' ''. Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 26 March 2018. Jump up ^ Walsh, Joseph ( 5 March 2018 ). `` You Were Never Really Here review ''. The Skinny. Radge Media. Retrieved 26 March 2018. Jump up ^ Bobkin, Matt ( 17 April 2018 ). `` You Were Never Really Here ''. Exclaim !. Exclaim !. Retrieved 17 April 2018. External links Official website You Were Never Really Here on IMDb Films directed by Lynne Ramsay Ratcatcher ( 1999 ) Morvern Callar ( 2002 ) We Need to Talk About Kevin ( 2011 ) You Were Never Really Here ( 2017 ) Amazon Video / Amazon Studios films and documentaries Documentaries Gleason ( 2016 ) Gimme Danger ( 2016 ) I Am Not Your Negro ( 2017 ) City of Ghosts ( 2017 ) Human Flow ( 2017 ) Films Chi - Raq ( 2015 ) Creative Control ( 2016 ) Elvis & Nixon ( 2016 ) Love & Friendship ( 2016 ) The Neon Demon ( 2016 ) Wiener - Dog ( 2016 ) Café Society ( 2016 ) Complete Unknown ( 2016 ) Author : The JT LeRoy Story ( 2016 ) The Dressmaker ( 2016 ) An American Girl Story -- Melody 1963 : Love Has to Win ( 2016 ) An American Girl Story -- Maryellen 1955 : Extraordinary Christmas ( 2016 ) The Handmaiden ( 2016 ) Manchester by the Sea ( 2016 ) Paterson ( 2016 ) The Salesman ( 2016 ) The Lost City of Z ( 2017 ) The Wall ( 2017 ) The Big Sick ( 2017 ) Landline ( 2017 ) The Only Living Boy in New York ( 2017 ) Crown Heights ( 2017 ) Brad 's Status ( 2017 ) Wonderstruck ( 2017 ) Last Flag Flying ( 2017 ) Wonder Wheel ( 2017 ) You Were Never Really Here ( 2017 ) Gringo ( 2018 ) Upcoming Do n't Worry, He Wo n't Get Far on Foot ( 2018 ) Life Itself ( 2018 ) Beautiful Boy ( 2018 ) Peterloo ( 2018 ) Zoe ( 2018 ) Suspiria ( 2018 ) The Goldfinch ( 2019 ) A Rainy Day in New York ( TBA ) Radioactive ( TBA ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=You_Were_Never_Really_Here&oldid=843298584 '' Categories : 2017 films English - language films British films French films British drama films French drama films British mystery films French mystery films British thriller films French thriller films American films Film4 Productions films Amazon Studios films Films directed by Lynne Ramsay Films shot in New York City Vigilante films Films scored by Jonny Greenwood Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from April 2018 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Dansk Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Português Русский Українська 中文 6 more Edit links This page was last edited on 28 May 2018, at 06 : 28. 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Question: when does you were never really here come out
Answer: limited release in Los Angeles and New York on 6 April 2018, and a wide release on 20 April