Obviously, the premise of two socially alienated men uneasily conjoined is an interesting one, and it could have prospered if film makers gifted with greater lucidity and a more charitable sense of character had done it.

A raw, tough movie of enormous power, with a riveting performance from Peter Boyle as the avenging devil.

The Boyle performance is terrifying from beginning to end, eyes flashing with wrath beneath a brow so heavy he’ll play Frankenstein’s monster four years later in Young Frankenstein.

Joe clearly illustrates in its own dramatic way how this seemingly disparate forms of political identity can form under one umbrella.