I'm Still Here

Joaquín Phoenix has always been something of a loose cannon. Being born into a hippy family who were members of a cult and tragically losing his older brother to a drugs overdose at a young age were clearly contributing factors to his image of brooding outsider. So when he announced he was quitting acting and starting a career in hip-hop, there were some who didn’t really bat an eyelid.

Many others cried ‘Hoax!’ as he put on weight and grew a Grizzly Adams-esque beard. And so it ultimately turned out to be. Since the release of ‘documentary’ I’m Still Here, director Casey Affleck and Phoenix himself have admitted that the whole thing was faked and set-up. But don’t let this subterfuge, confusion and weirdness dampen your enthusiasm: I’m Still Here remains a funny, odd and strangely engrossing mockumentary, even if you are in on the joke.

Allegedly starting in 2008, the film is a fly-on-the-wall look at Joaquín Phoenix’s descent into near-madness before and after the release of his last (and poorly-received) Hollywood feature: Two Lovers. Smoking far too much weed, slobbing around and even snorting cocaine off a prostitute’s nipples, it is hard to believe how critics such as the venerated Roger Ebert thought this was real in the first place. Nonetheless, the camera follows the star as he attempts to recruit hip-hop royalty to produce his album, eventually meeting up with P. Diddy (or whatever he’s called these days).

Even if you are in on the joke, you get the feeling that a lot of the material, and of course people’s reaction to it, is deliberately very close to the bone. The public and general internet’s dismissal of Phoenix is especially affecting. One imagines that the real aim of the film was to examine the public’ relationship with the biggest stars and how the media, hype and misinformation effect the perception of those same people.

In that respect, the mockumentary is very interesting and more serious than other classics of the genre, such as This Is Spinal Tap. But then again there is so much full-frontal male nudity that the seriousness is somewhat lessened. Phoenix himself gives an incredibly credible performance of a star unravelling before our very eyes and it is easy to see why Peter Bradshaw rated it one the ten best performances of the year. Like it or not, it is an entertaining watch.

Out now on DVD.