Review: I’m Still Here

By Brandon Cayot

One and a half years ago, Joaquin Phoenix walked onto the set of “The Late Show with David Letterman” and shocked the world with the announcement that he was retiring from film and pursuing a career in hip-hop.

With that announcement came a wild new look and disposition that was just as bizarre as his newly declared passion for hip hop music.

During the interview with Letterman, Phoenix was withdrawn and seemed to have no interest in being on the show at all. He essentially threw the movie he was supposed to be promoting under the bus by claiming to not have seen the film clip that was going to be shown. Bizarre behavior from a man that always had a reputation of being a committed and serious actor.

Here was a fat, shaggy, mumbling character who seemed oblivious to the fact that he was looking like a shadow of his former self. Had he been watching The Big Lebowski a little too much, or was he having a mid-life crisis?

I’m Still Here chronicles Phoenix over the last year as he pursues his “new career” in hip-hop music. The film brings us into the ambiguous genre of a mockumentary where we, as the audience, have no idea if anything we are seeing is actually real.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat and Bruno are good examples of this hybrid style of reality/mockumentary film that makes us question if we are watching reality or just very good acting.

Throughout the entire film, I asked myself, “Am I really watching Joaquin Phoenix snort cocaine while calling up prostitutes?” His antics in the film are so wild and pathetic that it’s hard to take him seriously. And yet, the sense of realism is quite strong.

I’m Still Here is hilarious and interesting regardless of its truthfulness or lack thereof. For once, we actually get to see the lifestyle—jet set, fast paced lifestyle where money and time are no objects—many of us imagine when we think of how celebrities live.

It’s almost like the ultimate reality show. Who else would you rather spy on then an international superstar actor? The film is not trying to make some profound statement on the role of reality television in our society, but is instead suggesting that it itself is a reality show. Is this going to be a new trend in film where we see superstar celebs bring us into their lives?

The film comes off light-hearted and pretty funny. Phoenix does show some pretty dark sides of himself, but these moments are generally accompanied with genuinely comedic comments. The key to watching this film is not getting wrapped up in feeling like you’re being tricked, but to just laugh and take it in.

As the movie closed, I gathered that Phoenix was definitely acting. He transformed himself into this character for the film and got all the publicity he desired. Was it worth it? I don’t think so, but doing this film won’t hurt his career: it was essentially a year-long role lived offscreen as well as onscreen. And now it’s over. He has already shaved the beard, lost the weight, and been seen rubbing shoulders at Cannes.

Whatever it is, I enjoy it. This genre is a refreshing new way to experience film for anyone that enjoys the time they spend in a theater letting the images and sounds affect their emotions. Phoenix will not win an Academy Award for I’m Still Here, but it’s worth a watch and a laugh.