Jag tror inte att det någonsin uttryckligen anges i filmen, men det ska vara 20 . Det här är vad som sägs i stycket ( se här för en länk till en "bunt" från spelverket ).
Mycket av förvirringen / kontroversen i filmen kommer från "kyckling" scenen, där hon nämner att hon är 12. Detta har diskuterats av flera personer som är inblandade i filmen, inklusive Matthew McConaughey :
"The way I understand it," said McConaughey, "the MPAA's NC-17 rating is really about the chicken scene."
SPOILER ALERT: Skip the next paragraph if you don't want plot revelations.
Indeed, whatever mark "Killer Joe" may leave on America's movie conscience, it will forever be remembered for the "chicken scene," in which Joe forces Sharla, in front of her husband, to perform mock oral sex using a chicken leg. It is a seriously messed-up moment that spurs more violence.
Initially, McConaughey thought the harsh rating was because of a sexual scene between Joe and Dottie, in which Dottie recalls a physical encounter from her childhood when she was only 12. If you don't quite catch the dialogue, you might think Dottie, who is supposed to be 18 or 19 in the film and is played by the 23-year-old Temple, is saying she is 12.
"I thought that's what the MPAA was having trouble with, and I thought that could be a simple fix, raise the volume a bit, or get a line in there, 'How old were you?' The reason I thought the chicken scene was in the realm of R is because it's so deliberately provocative. It's hyper-reality. It's got so much what-the-F to it. It's the classic comedy setup. I thought there was something about the deliberation of it that lets it be absurd and lets you laugh, in the way that Tarantino can get away with some of that stuff."
The producers and Friedkin appealed to the MPAA.
"I believe it came back to, 'There are 20 or seconds that need to be cut.' And Billy was very clear, 'No way.' And I was on board with him. 'Please, no. That's it. Let's wear NC-17 as a badge, and shine that badge and go forward.' "
Det verkar dock som att denna förvirring är något som har påverkat många online, med många kommentatorer som felaktigt hänvisar till henne som 12.