Move over Audrey II, because a new plant by the name of Little Joe is poised to unleash an epidemic upon the human race unlike anything we've seen before. Imagine for a moment if catching the scent of an exotic plant could make you happy on a molecular level. How incredible would it be if curing depression were as simple as surrounding yourself with a bouquet of beautiful flowers, each one designed to lift your spirits, rearranging your biological makeup to care not about all the little things that get you down? That sounds nice, doesn't it? A little too nice, if you ask me.
In the upcoming sci-fi drama LITTLE JOE, we follow Alice (Emily Beecham), a single mother and dedicated senior plant breeder at a corporation engaged in developing new species. She has engineered a special crimson flower, remarkable not only for its beauty but also for its therapeutic value: if kept at the ideal temperature, fed properly and spoken to regularly, this plant makes its owner happy. Against company policy, Alice takes one home as a gift for her teenage son, Joe. They christen it ‘Little Joe.’ But as their plant grows, so too does Alice’s suspicion that her new creation may not be as harmless as its nickname suggests.
Directed and co-written by Jessica Hausner (AMOUR FOU, LOURDERS) with writer Geraldine Bajard, LITTLE JOE stars Emily Beecham (DAPHNE, THE THIRTEENTH TALE), Ben Whisaw (THE LOBSTER, MARY POPPINS RETURNS), Kerry Fox (SHALLOW GRAVE, AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE), and Kit Connor (ROCKETMAN, SLAUGHTERHOUSE RULEZ).
Personally, I've never cared for the smell of flowers. However, if some savvy scientist were to engineer a plant that could lift my spirits on a daily basis, I'd be willing to huff that flora like a kindergartner does smelly markers. How about you? Do you think there's room in your terrarium for Little Joe? Let us know in the comments section below.