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The Utter Undoing of Joaquin Phoenix

In 2008, Joaquin Phoenix fans started noticing that Joaquin was acting a little “different”. In an interview to “Extra,” he stated, "I want to take this opportunity...to give you the exclusive ... that this will be my last performance as an actor... I'm not doing films anymore." When the stunned reporter asked him if he was serious, he again stated,"Yeah. I'm working on my music. I'm done. I've been through that."

 

As fans were soon to find out, Phoenix had decided to quit his lucrative film career in search of fame as a rapper. What followed this announcement was a hoax so well crafted, that even those who knew Phoenix well believed he was spiraling out of control. The documentary “I’m still here,” follows Phoenix through this stage, and what was at the time believed to be the implosion of his career. Following the sudden announcement in 2008, Joaquin started acting erratically. There were videos of bar fights leaked such as this one:

Accusations of drug use soon followed, with Celebrity news column Page Six stating that “The two-time Oscar nominee (Walk the Line and Gladiator) showed up to a tribute to Paul Newman last week in San Francisco and ‘was out of it,’ said one attendee. Other actors were performing scenes and readings, but Phoenix just got up and walked out. ‘He wobbled back in a bit later, but it was odd,’ said our source. ‘He was slurring his words and was unsteady on his feet’

 

In 2010 when the documentary came out, it was ripped apart by critics. Mainly because both Phoenix and Casey Affleck, the director, stuck to the story that the movie was real and an actual documentary about the actor’s life. When the movie finally hit theaters, people saw the joke was on them, and reacted badly.

 

Critics such as Roger Ebert said:

"We now have it on Casey Affleck's word that "I'm Still Here," the film about Joaquin Phoenix's apparent descent into self-destruction, was a hoax.We cannot doubt this. Well, perhaps we can; the possibility exists that Affleck received so much criticism after the release that he decided to back off from his devastating portrait of his brother-in-law.

 

 

But let's agree it is a hoax. Now the spinning begins. Who fell for it, and who didn't? And why does it matter? I think it matters because it helps establish what the film achieved and how it achieved it. As a documentary it is the sad record of a man lost in the wilderness of drugs, ego and narcissism. As a fake documentary -- a fiction film -- it is a rather awe-inspiring record of a piece of high risk performance art played out in public by Phoenix and Affleck over more than a year. It would be interesting to know which we are watching. I fell for it. Sure, I expressed some doubts and reservations, but I reviewed it seriously, and even expressed my hope that Joaquin would pull himself together. I was not alone."

 

The fall out when the hoax was revealed was wide spread. People went from angry to amused, but mostly angry. Some people thought his career would never recover. However, he went on to star in such critically acclaimed films as Her and Inherent Vice, proving once again, that Joaquin Phoenix is indeed “Still here”.

--Ryan Bass

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