← Back to Reviews
in
I'm Still Here
(directed by Casey Affleck, 2010)
Joaquin Phoenix wants to be his authentic self - with hip hop music - in I'm Still Here.
Despite the fact that the movie is part Bruno, part Blair Witch Project, part Jackass, part Slumdog Millionaire and part Survivor, Casey Affleck's vision of his friend Joaquin Phoenix turning into a drugged out, hip hopped Hollywood Unabomber is an original, unique motion picture event that is not to be missed.
Joaquin Phoenix succeeds in creating one of the most exhausting characters ever -- a narcissistic, delusional, annoying, arrogant, stubborn, ******* version of himself that I'm glad isn't real, since Casey and Joaquin have now come out and said the bearded, sunglasses wearing Joaquin was actually a stunt used to create a "distance" for us to believe in this movie. That distance both works and doesn't work for this film. It works because the stunt actually draws you into Joaquin's character and the film -- if you were frustrated and pissed off by the stunt, you'll be even more pissed off by Joaquin as Crazy Joaquin. It doesn't work because now everyone knows it's not real and that currently brings about confusion, annoyance and spite towards the film.
I'm Still Here is exactly like The Blair Witch Project in that both films played on the "This Is Real, But We're Admitting In Public That It Isn't Real" gag. The amazing thing is that, like Blair Witch Project, this movie is actually pretty darn good. There is a change of focus happening here with this movie that's different than anything else, at least with what I'm aware of. It is odd that a major, Oscar winning movie star took so much time off to portray this mentally ill version of himself. It's more odd because by doing so, he took a huge risk. It not only risks himself, it risks the movie. But I applaud that risk and I think the result is a work of genius.
The film has so many layers of dimensions. It doesn't really wow you, and yet it does. Joaquin's ramblings throughout the film can exhaust you and bore you, but yet you still watch and follow him. It is a movie that will make you think about its intricacies. When there's a fight on screen between Joaquin and his assistant, I thought it was interesting how Joaquin comes across as the bad guy, yet at the same time you remember how this is all staged. They said that they were trying to examine current TV reality shows and how they're not really so real afterall, which is commendable, but what's fascinating to me is how it's so much more interesting and thought provoking as a movie. In a way, the movie is about acting itself, about what is real, about people and how we can relate to celebrities, even when they're playing a part. It's a complex study. It's pretentious and yet it knows it's pretentious.
The people who reviewed I'm Still Here before the "hoax" was revealed and thought that Joaquin Phoenix really had become this character probably did not see the film correctly. It is, of course, hilarious that people fell for the trick. They released the info that it wasn't real at the right time, for the movie could have made everybody even more concerned and freaked out about Joaquin Phoenix -- he's nastier in the movie than the way he appeared on David Letterman in 2009. He's utterly hopeless. But when you see the movie and know that it's not real, you'll be surprised that some people actually fell for it. It is totally comical and there's nothing wrong with that.
Despite all that I've said, the film still isn't the greatest it could have been. It doesn't really slow down. It's chaotic and drives you nuts. Joaquin is emotionally exhausting. Style was definitely more important to them than substance, but overall, it's an original piece of work, an amusing experiment, but I think the overall impact won't really hit anybody just yet. In the future, this could be remembered as a standout performance by Joaquin Phoenix, with some camps thinking this is better than him in Walk the Line, and this could even be a predictor of styles that are yet to come.
I'm gonna go watch it again right now.
(directed by Casey Affleck, 2010)
Joaquin Phoenix wants to be his authentic self - with hip hop music - in I'm Still Here.
Despite the fact that the movie is part Bruno, part Blair Witch Project, part Jackass, part Slumdog Millionaire and part Survivor, Casey Affleck's vision of his friend Joaquin Phoenix turning into a drugged out, hip hopped Hollywood Unabomber is an original, unique motion picture event that is not to be missed.
Joaquin Phoenix succeeds in creating one of the most exhausting characters ever -- a narcissistic, delusional, annoying, arrogant, stubborn, ******* version of himself that I'm glad isn't real, since Casey and Joaquin have now come out and said the bearded, sunglasses wearing Joaquin was actually a stunt used to create a "distance" for us to believe in this movie. That distance both works and doesn't work for this film. It works because the stunt actually draws you into Joaquin's character and the film -- if you were frustrated and pissed off by the stunt, you'll be even more pissed off by Joaquin as Crazy Joaquin. It doesn't work because now everyone knows it's not real and that currently brings about confusion, annoyance and spite towards the film.
I'm Still Here is exactly like The Blair Witch Project in that both films played on the "This Is Real, But We're Admitting In Public That It Isn't Real" gag. The amazing thing is that, like Blair Witch Project, this movie is actually pretty darn good. There is a change of focus happening here with this movie that's different than anything else, at least with what I'm aware of. It is odd that a major, Oscar winning movie star took so much time off to portray this mentally ill version of himself. It's more odd because by doing so, he took a huge risk. It not only risks himself, it risks the movie. But I applaud that risk and I think the result is a work of genius.
The film has so many layers of dimensions. It doesn't really wow you, and yet it does. Joaquin's ramblings throughout the film can exhaust you and bore you, but yet you still watch and follow him. It is a movie that will make you think about its intricacies. When there's a fight on screen between Joaquin and his assistant, I thought it was interesting how Joaquin comes across as the bad guy, yet at the same time you remember how this is all staged. They said that they were trying to examine current TV reality shows and how they're not really so real afterall, which is commendable, but what's fascinating to me is how it's so much more interesting and thought provoking as a movie. In a way, the movie is about acting itself, about what is real, about people and how we can relate to celebrities, even when they're playing a part. It's a complex study. It's pretentious and yet it knows it's pretentious.
The people who reviewed I'm Still Here before the "hoax" was revealed and thought that Joaquin Phoenix really had become this character probably did not see the film correctly. It is, of course, hilarious that people fell for the trick. They released the info that it wasn't real at the right time, for the movie could have made everybody even more concerned and freaked out about Joaquin Phoenix -- he's nastier in the movie than the way he appeared on David Letterman in 2009. He's utterly hopeless. But when you see the movie and know that it's not real, you'll be surprised that some people actually fell for it. It is totally comical and there's nothing wrong with that.
Despite all that I've said, the film still isn't the greatest it could have been. It doesn't really slow down. It's chaotic and drives you nuts. Joaquin is emotionally exhausting. Style was definitely more important to them than substance, but overall, it's an original piece of work, an amusing experiment, but I think the overall impact won't really hit anybody just yet. In the future, this could be remembered as a standout performance by Joaquin Phoenix, with some camps thinking this is better than him in Walk the Line, and this could even be a predictor of styles that are yet to come.
I'm gonna go watch it again right now.