Lionsgate has released the trailer and poster for David Gordon Green’s new drama, Joe. The overarching plot is about the relationship that forms between the troubled titular character (Nicolas Cage) and an abused teenager (Tye Sheridan), but it’s more of a character-driven piece about two people who are struggling against giving into the violence that pervades their lives. It’s a powerful film, and while I’m flattered that they’ve quoted my review on the poster and in the trailer, I think the trailer goes too deep into the picture, although it does give a good sense of the main theme.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster. In case you’re wondering who the old man in the trailer is, it’s Gary Poulter, a late non-actor whose remarkable performance is on par with Cage and Sheridan.  Joe opens in theaters and on VOD on April 11th.

Click over to Apple to see the trailer in HD.

Here’s the official synopsis for Joe:

A gripping mix of friendship, violence and redemption erupts in the contemporary South in this adaptation of Larry Brown’s novel, celebrated at once for its grit and its deeply moving core. Directed by David Gordon Green, JOE film brings Academy Award® winner Nicolas Cage back to his indie roots in the title role as the hard-living, hot-tempered, ex-con Joe Ransom, who is just trying to dodge his instincts for trouble – until he meets a hard-luck kid, (MUD’s Tye Sheridan) who awakens in him a fierce and tender-hearted protector. With a screenplay by Gary Hawkins, JOE is based on the novel by the late Larry Brown (Big Bad Love, Facing the Moon), the former Mississippi firefighter renowned for his powerful, gothic storytelling and universal themes of honor, desperation and moral rectitude.

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