Joint Body follows a recently paroled man with nothing to fall back as he tries to stay on the straight and narrow. It's a plot that has been used countless times, but it has produced some good films if done well. The acting is done very well, the directing is very good, and the writer wants to make the film more character driven than conflict driven. A lot of newer films and series have done this recently and it had led to some great cinema. Unfortunately, while joint body does touch on many things, it never really follows through enough with anything. We meet the main character Nick's brother and his wife and touch on a little of their history, his ex wife and his daughter whom he has no contact with, but it only briefly touches on these things. While we learn of a few stories and see the basics of their relationships, nothing ever really drives home into why these characters came to be who they are or what makes them tick. It's not like by the later part of the film you will feel like you understand the characters and can predict how they would react and feel to situations. For a film based on characters more than conflicts, this leaves it feeling a little light and empty. Instead of really focusing on one relationship and going into it, we pick up tiny bits of history with the secondary characters. There isn't a super strong ending that wraps everything up either. Open endings can be great, but it didn't leave much of what would be expected to follow, nor a feeling that the story would go on and on. By the end, it felt like we were still just in the middle of a story that didn't really go very far in any direction. If you are on Netflix and have seen almost everything like me it's something you can give a run through, but it won't wow you, evoke any strong emotions, or make you think very much.
