Joaquin Phoenix Takes Down Kidnappers In You Were Never Really Here Trailer

Don't mess with Phoenix.

In the Cannes Film Festival darling You Were Never Really Here, Joaquin Phoenix stars as Joe, a troubled law enforcement officer on a mission to rescue a politician's kidnapped teenage daughter from the clutches of an unknown individual. 

The international film, which is titled A Beautiful Day, just dropped a chilling full-length trailer that features Phoenix in mesmerizing and terrifying form, swinging hammers at child traffickers and wrapping plastic around the faces of presumably evil men. As the clip rolls on, it's hinted that everything isn't exactly what it seems, and that the young girl at the heart of the story might be in far graver danger than anyone assumed. Take a look in the video above.

Those who saw the film when it screened at Cannes, where the nabbed the Best Actor aware for Phoenix and tied for Best Screenplay with The Killing of a Sacred Deer, regard it as brutal, brilliant, and, of course, bloody. Collider's Gregory Ellwood said of the pic and its actors' performances, "In regards to his character's profession, Phoenix's passionate performance instills a real world legitimacy in Joe, even if the events seem hard to believe. He's stealthy, but brutal, preferring a hammer over a gun as a weapon of choice. That fact in particular often makes Ramsay's action sequences feel like a companion piece to Netflix and Marvel Studios' Daredevil series or Christopher Nolan's quietly effective Batman Begins. He certainly isn't a superhero, but Joe handles his business as though he's about to be one in these action sequences."

The brief Cannes synopsis reads for You Were Never Really Here reads, "A missing teenage girl. A brutal and tormented enforcer on a rescue mission. Corrupt power and vengeance unleash a storm of violence that may lead to his awakening."

Joining Phoenix in the film are Ekaterina Samsonov as Nina, the kidnapped daughter in question; Alessandro Nivola as Senator Williams; Alex Manette as Senator Votto; John Doman as John McCleary; and Judith Roberts as Joe's mother.

Directed by Lynne Ramsay, who previously helmed the darkly disturbing We Need to Talk about Kevin, You Were Never Really Here is slated for an international release in November. Amazon is handling stateside distribution, but hasn't yet announced a debut date. We'll keep you update as we learn more information. 

Until then, discover some unappreciated thriller movies you can watch on Netflix right now.