Hold on! Was that two great Matthew McConaughey movies in two weeks?!
By Anna Smith
Time was, the words Matthew McConaughey were a surefire tip-off for a bonafide stinker – mostly of the rom com ilk. The Wedding Planner, Failure To Launch, Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past… all featured the actor in bland roles opposite the latest attempt at a rom com heroine. Any chemistry he had with Kate Hudson in How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days was long gone by the time the deplorable Fool’s Gold came along and while he flirted with gritty roles in the likes of Frailty, these were few and far between. A McConaughey movie became reduced to the thrill of seeing him strip his shirt off as many times as could be shoehorned into the script. And come on, Matt, you’re worth more than that.
What joy, then, that the last fortnight has brought not one but two excellent Matthew McConaughey movies: darkly comic thriller Killer Joe and Steven Soderbergh’s smart male-stripper comedy Magic Mike. Yes, he is required to take his top off but that’s not all: he’s also required to act – properly. With gusto. With conviction. With – and this is key – a deliciously dark streak absent in the insipid romantic roles to which he was so clearly poorly suited.
This is an actor who relishes the dark side, adept at a blackly comic aside and a loaded look that might just terrify his female fans as much as attract them. His character in Killer Joe is hardly a good guy, after all: a hired assassin, he takes a simple young girl (Juno Temple) as collateral with the clear intent of having his wicked way. There is also an unforgettable scene with fried chicken that you have to see to believe.
There’s something about McConaughey’s drawl and leer that makes him perfectly suited to these kind of roles. He’s also terrific in the upcoming Mud, one of the stand-out films in this year’s Cannes. Yes, it co-stars Reese Witherspoon and, as a coming-of-age tale, is a slightly lighter affair. But his turn as a mysterious hermit living on an island is funny, moving and charming in a way that doesn’t patronise his fans, who know that he’s more than just a pretty six pack. With roles as an AIDS victim (The Dallas Buyer’s Club) and a Colonel (Thunder Run) coming up, here’s hoping this is the McConaughey of the future.
Magic Mike review
