Review of I'm Still Here (2010) by Kevin D — 13 Sep 2012

The whole Joaquin Phoenix saga really intrigued me. I was on the edge of my seat during that span of a year and a half where people were debating whether or not the whole thing was an act. I loved the message board discussions that listed possible reasons for his "depression"/ career change.

And this movie expertly shows how that exact craze into the 24/7 celebrity life style interest is so dangerous and harmful to the celebrities in question. None of those ideas are new, but the ideas feel so fresh and intimate in this film.

The movie feels all too uncomfortably real and intimate. Let's go back to about a year and a half ago during Phoenix's appearance on Letterman. I was in my junior year of high school at the time and the episode was on during the middle of the week.

At the time, I would take naps right after school (for about 4 hours) in order to stay up late (about 2 am) then I would go to sleep at 2 and wake up at 6:30. Combined it was about 8 hours of sleep altogether, but it didn't really work out for me.

It was a stupid sleeping schedule, but hey, naps are fun. I say all of that because obviously Letterman's show comes on at 11:35, pretty late for a school night. Personally, I'm a Leno guy, but I think Leno had a rerun that night so I decided to tune into Letterman, who I think is rude, has lazy jokes, but is great at interviews.

Lucky enough for me, I stuck around for the guests that night. His interview with Joaquin Phoenix was so awkward, uncomfortable, hilarious, sad, and sympathetic. I was laughing the whole time, but I felt sorry for Phoenix.

The interview was all the rage the next day and I was telling all of my friends about it. I constantly watched the video on youtube and researched Phoenix's career. Like I said earlier, this movie is out to get the modern media, the whole 24/7 news sites/comedians that were shown in the film that went after Phoenix.

The movie was realistic and incredibly well-acted. Joaquin delivered a monumental performance that should be nominated for an Oscar. He was in character for over a year, it was physically and mentally demanding, and he put his reputation on the line.

It's truly a psychological and risky performance along the lines of Harvey Keitel in Bad Lieutenant and Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver. I like how the movie darkly progressed. It was a riches to rags story, kind of like Arrested Development.

The mini episodes along the way were always dramatic and entertaining. I really liked the insights this film gave into the entertainment industry. The viewer feels like they are part of Phoenix's entourage.

It's such an insightful and realistic journey into the dark side of Hollywood. Shockingly enough, I enjoyed Phoenix's rap tracks. He had some cool beats and wasn't bad at rapping. Finally, I want to comment on how artistic and poetic this film is.

It is an extremely clever and interesting piece of filmmaking. I applaud Casey Affleck for his intentions with this movie. The debate of whether or not the actions in the film were real or not is not important.

Neither is the debate of whether or not America was duped along the process. This was truly an innovative idea, and Afflcek and Phoenix were obviously not laughing all the way. It's a serious film with incredibly deep stuff.

There is no way they would put so much work into the project, just for an elaborate prank, they are not Andy Kaufman (unless you're a conspiracy theorist that thinks Kaufman is still alive). The opening/closing setting is clever and the ending is full of literary and figurative interpretation.

Casey Affleck put all of his heart and literally all of his money into this film. It's unfortunate that it was not a bigger hit. Hopefully this movie can be recognized as the masterpiece that it is in the near future.