There are plenty of warning signs that You Were Never Really Here would not be an enjoyable watch. Dealing with a dark subject matter, from director Lynne Ramsay whose previous film, We Need To Talk About Kevin, is a horrifically brilliant tale of a teen mass murderer, and with the uncompromising Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role, this is one film that was going to hue closer to film-as-art than most. And it certainly does, proving an uncompromising, unrelenting visceral experience, a brutal, bruising watch that will reward those who are brave enough to undertake this hellish journey.

Joaquin Phoenix plays Joe, a broken, scarred, bearded veteran living in New York. He spends his days caring for his aging mother, while suppressing horrific memories, and his nights searching for missing children. One particular case spirals out of control and sends Joe on a destructive path.

You Were Never Really Here is brutal and, admirably, uncompromising. Ramsay has crafted a film singularly of its own, with a central performance from Phoenix that will surely be a part of next year's Oscars race. (Is it too early to talk about the 2019 Oscars?) The film is aided by an exemplary soundtrack and breathtaking cinematography. Johnny Greenwood crafts a jarring soundscape, while Thomas Townend gives the film a sheen that leads to some beautiful images amongst the darkness of the film. There is a particularly interesting device Ramsay uses, which is to keep the violence unseen, with these acts either taking place just off-screen or being viewed second-hand, through a mirror or the feedback from a security camera. The removal of the audience from these moments, when we are placed so much at the forefront of Joe's internal trauma (thanks to repeated snippets of troubling flashbacks), indicate the film's interest. It is not in its pulpy narrative but in the lead character, creating a kaleidoscopic, near-wordless journey through Joe's memories as he searches for redemption.

There is an element to both We Need To Talk About Kevin and You Were Never Really Here that in lesser hands could be exploitative. You can imagine an 80s action film starring a Stallone or Schwarzenegger that would share the same plot as this film. But there is a darkness here, a brutality that makes this an uncompromising watch. I can't say I will return to this film any time soon but it, once again, marks Ramsay out as one of the most fascinating directors currently working in cinema.