‘You Were Never Really Here’ a powerful exploration of PTSD

Lynne Ramsay’s 2018 film You Were Never Really Here is one of my favorite films, though many people have never heard of it. The movie’s use of artistic and beautiful cinematography is used like a mosaic, painting the mind of a deeply traumatized and broken main character with scattered flashbacks and beautifully haunting imagery and symbolism. 

You Were Never Really Here puts its spotlight on Joe, a physically and mentally scarred character played by award-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix. Joe’s PTSD stems from his past in the military and his abusive father. Joe now works as a “hired gun” for the FBI in an attempt to fight off his demons by rescuing kidnapped children. 

Joe is tasked with saving a senator’s daughter and with this job Joe uncovers a dark and complicated conspiracy that could either lead to Joe’s death or a reason for Joe to feel like he has a reason to “really be here”. Under this average-seeming action movie plot, lies some of my favorite visual storytelling. 

Haunting sound design, scattered flashbacks, and claustrophobic and impressionistic cinematography are all ways Ramsay portrays Joe’s PTSD. It feels like you are watching the movie from his point of view. Beautiful shots are layered with outbursts of violence, sometimes viewed through a security camera or the reflection of a broken mirror, making even the action feel surreal and almost like a dream. 

Joe’s suicidal demeanor is hinted at through shots of him dispearing behind moving objects, and his ghostly flashbacks scattered throughout the plot. It thoroughly immerses you in his loneliness and the sense that his death would have no effect because he believes he is already dead.

This movie is a sensory overload. You will feel overwhelmed watching You Were Never Really Here, and you should.