User reviews

Just two years after receiving an Oscar nomination for his powerhouse performance as Johnny Cash in 'Walk the Line,' actor Joaquin Phoenix shocked show business by announcing his retirement from acting to pursue a career as a hip hop musician. 'I'm Still Here,' directed by Phoenix's brother-in-law and fellow actor Casey Affleck, tells the story of the star's life change. Supposedly.

After Joaquin Phoenix's apparent mental breakdown which came in the form of a legendary David Letterman appearance and a beard to rival that of Zack Galifianakis, many people in & out of the film industry fought to uncover the validity of Joaquin's retirement. Shortly after the release of the 'I'm Still Here,' questions were answered when Phoenix & Affleck admitted their worldwide prank saying that, from the beginning, it was all a hoax. If this admission is true, this film will become one of the most believable & ridiculous hoaxes in a long, long time.

Regardless of whether 'I'm Still Here' is actually a hoax (or if the hoax is a hoax, attempting to cover up the breakdown of Phoenix), it is still quite an entertaining film. However, due to the seemingly obscene subject matter throughout the film, it's hard to truly believe that any famous person would allow it to be shown publicly, risking a hugely negative backlash. We see Joaquin snorting coke (off hookers' breasts at one point), spanking naked men with towels, ordering female escorts, and other low-grade behaviour. If all of this actually DID happen without elaborate staging, then I send full respect to Mr. Phoenix for having the courage to allow it to be shown on screen like this.

One issue that the film does have comes from the overall style. While the story, content, etc., are all exceedingly engaging, the actual visuals of the film were almost unbearable. In a low-budget documentary like, say, the recent 'Catfish,' amateurish cinematography & direction are almost expected. However, when a documentary is being produced by two successful actors and is directed by someone who has been working on film sets for twenty years, this bottom-level style just does not work when the validity of the film's content are already in question.

Overall, however, the film does work well as a whole. Joaquin Phoenix, whether he's playing himself or the insane version of himself, is impossible to not watch, even with his constant arrogant and selfish behaviour throughout. If you watch along believing it just might be real, it will be an emotional roller coaster ride. Even if it is all a hoax, though, it's still one hell of a crazy ride.

Final Verdict: 7.5/10.

-AP3-

Society wants us in our place, whether we're big stars or the common worker. This is proof that even those on top of the world can fall if they try to do something original, unique and personally rewarding. With that said, I highly enjoyed this piece, although I can't say I expected to. I thought it would be a joke, something to laugh at and yes, while there were parts that were funny I couldn't help but to be taken aback by a message, whether intended or accidental: we are a mean society. our expectations are for us and not those around us. We are greedy. We laugh at others when maybe we're not supposed. We criticize when we shouldn't.

This isn't a film about the actor/rapper in question - it's a film about us and the consensus: we're really bad people.

-E

Normally I start a review with the plot. Let me share what another writer used as their description of the plot. The Los Angeles Times reported that the film featured "more male frontal nudity than you'd find in some gay porn films and a stomach-turning sequence in which someone feuding with Phoenix defecates on the actor while he's asleep". Also, we have Phoenix "snorting cocaine, ordering call girls, having oral sex with a publicist, treating his assistants abusively and rapping badly." That about sums it up.

I really hope Sean "Diddy" Combs was not in on this, because his reaction to Phoenix's music is hilarious. He is so appalled by the lack of talent. I love seeing him take his business so seriously, so if he is just acting, that is unfortunate. Of course, that could also mean he is a good actor... hmmm...

Letterman was allegedly not in on the joke... and wow, is that an uncomfortable interview. I am not sure what was more awkward... Phoenix's silence or Letterman's jabs.

Phoenix does a good job pretending to be an arrogant jerk. Perhaps too good... I almost have to wonder.

I enjoy this film for what it's trying to do. On one hand, it's great for the criticism that it is trying to convey. Poking holes and making a mockery of the entertainment industry and how the obsession of artist can become fear and anxiety for the artist's themselves. All of these themes play into the story very well and in no way was the narrative boring or wrong. However, it acts itself as a documentary which is one of its biggest problems.

A mockumentary is an attempt of making fun of something, fictional or real; its purpose is to entertain the audience. While a documentary attempt to inform or educate the audience. And from these two definitions, that's one of the biggest that I have with the film. It doesn't know what it wants to be or what it could be.

If you want to make a mockumentary, then there need to be more humour and more ridiculous jokes, and the film doesn't know what or when it should be funny. Its style of 'documentary' is just so unconnected and unreal that you need to question whether or not Joaquin Phoenix was acting at all. That is one of the biggest problems with the film. What do you take seriously and what should you think is just funny? I can't tell whether or not it meant to be funny or not.

A washed-up person ruining his own life and manipulating people's emotion so that he could make a point is fine because it's a choice to make. But when the audience already that you are clearly lying about what you are doing it just felt like a big joke and nothing more. I could see the message being productive and I could see its technicality being great. But when you failed at making a convincing film that the actor's experience is their genuine experience, what is there to think that it's a real film? Or a documentary? Nothing. You simply don't know whether or not the film is worthy of being great. If I know that his emotions are illusions, then I would see no genuine emotion. It lacks meaning because of it. There is simply no meaning behind this film, it doesn't change Joaquin Phoenix's life nor does it change the audience mind towards Hollywood. It is shallow when it comes to a meaningful story.

Overall the narrative is great, its technicality is great. The fact that the other actors stay true to their roles is great and enduring as well. Its biggest and determining factor lies in its meaning, which it falls short on every level.

In one way, "I'm Still Here" is an amazing film. After all, Joaquin Phoenix and director Casey Afleck really pulled off a huge hoax here...one that took years in the making. Just after Phoenix received the Oscar, he publicly announced on various television shows that he's walking away from acting....all to set the stage for this mockumentary. This is very reminiscent of the things Andy Kaufman did late in life...when he became a pro wrestler who only wrestled women as well as his abrasive alter ego (Tony Clifton)....which seemed less like acting and more like performance art.

However, this mockumentary is not like most others I've seen in that it is VERY rough and looks like a home movie filmed on iPhones or a home video camera. It lacks any sort of polish or editing and is really tough to watch because of this. In other words, to make this joke of a film, they seemed to try very hard to make it unwatchable or at least very tough to watch in order to make it look as if Phoenix REALLY was trying to become a rap star and had given up Hollywood and had lost his mind. All the cursing, coarse language and gratuitous frontal nudity seemed to heighten this effect.

To me, this is a film whose concept is much better than its execution. Watching it is tough, as the movie is really and long and rough....with many portions looking more like stuff that normally would fall on the cutting room floor. A big joke...but one that really isn't very funny after a while....just tedious. It was made worse because the character Phoenix played (an odd version of himself) was really, really annoying....and after a while, I just found myself giving up on the movie. In hindsight, this would have made an excellent short film...but 108 minutes of it felt like an endurance contest.

I only gave this a 3 because the idea of the film was great. But watching it is horrid...and I cannot imagine anyone enjoying it or saying they'd be willing to watch it twice!

Somehow, I feel like one of the only people who thinks this movie is absolutely genius and incredibly funny. Many leading critics seem to have missed the fact that this is a ruse. Reading in the NYT yesterday that Casey Affleck admitted it was not "reality" probably aided my ability to view the movie the way I did, but I am surprised that so many people have a negative reaction to what Affleck and Phoenix present and couldn't see the bigger picture even before the revelation was made. I am looking forward to J.P's appearance on Letterman next week, when I believe we will learn a lot more about their motivation in its production. In the meantime, however, I think a few things can be said that will not prove to be altogether ignorant on my part.

First, this a movie made by professional actors. This is not Casey Affleck following a Joaquin Phoenix lacking self-awareness around with a camera because they have nothing better to do. It is a deliberate effort to create, and they are both collaborating. That should give everyone a good starting point. It is a real movie with thoughtful development, not the work of pedestrian journalists. With that in mind, it is easy to see just how much fun it would have been to make.

The primary "conflict" in the movie is Joaquin's discomfort with the pressures on him and the risks he is taking in the face of so many expectations to keep producing the kinds of movies that won him accolades. The viewer who thinks the film is true life will believe he is throwing away a great movie career because he is the typical tragic celebrity who has it all, can't recognize it, is under chemical influence, and has no one around who cares enough to intervene. There are far too many clues to let that impression control throughout the film.

When J.P. delivers monologues about how he's putting it all on the line, what we should understand is that the fake J.P. is talking about his hip-hop dream, while the real J.P. is acknowledging the risk he is taking by staying out of glossy big-budget blockbusters he had at his fingertips after Walk the Line. Keep in mind: he had to be this character for almost two whole years in order to make anyone bother to watch the movie. When you stack this kind of dedication up against a stupid movie about the drama behind Facebook, the farce of Jersey Shore, another crime movie set in Boston, and all the other garbage out there, I'm Still Here stands out as cutting-edge performance.

Comparisons are easily made to works of Sacha Baron Cohen and Christopher Guest. The primary difference is the real-world gambit of Phoenix and the manipulation of the media, expanding the stage of performance beyond the theaters. And the audience isn't spoon-fed the humor. Yeah, they probably ticked off a lot of suited business people who wanted Phoenix to be predictable and stay in bounds, but the very point of the movie was that the Hollywood system is a fenced-in joke of a society and very easy to toy with. Of course, the sad truth is that so many fine performers have indeed self-destructed in similar fashion. Perhaps that is why people are uncomfortable with the movie; because it is plausible. But if J.P. can deceive so many so easily, it is all the more a masterpiece.

experience. But I did watch it intently, wondering what I was supposed to get out of it. I did get that the life of a celebrity is like walking a tight rope. It is certainly dangerous to one's mental health. It is essential to have loyal and supportive friends. The movie shows the horror side of fame.

Casey Affleck does a good job making this look like a documentary. JP is great as a successful and yet desperado actor turning rap singer. I was left wondering if the interactions of the players and the deal-making portrayed are an accurate depiction of Hollywood.

One strange omission is that the main character is shown doing many things but never shown eating. He seems to gain weight during the filming but he is never shown eating a morsel of food. It would have been more humanizing if it had been shown.

It's definitely worth watching.

This has to be one of the most weird and surreal movies that I've ever seen. Watching Joaquin Phoenix bouncing around like a gibbering idiot and rapping in front of Edward James Olmos (rap name: EJO), while a nonsensical voice-over of Olmos rambles about raindrops and mountains and inner light...it's just insane. And the entire mockumentary is like that, to varying degrees. 

Joaquin plays a deranged, drug-using, prostitute-frequenting, delusional, destructive, bizzaro-version of himself, and I just can't look away. Every time he steps up onto a stage to rap, it's a hilarious train wreck. Even though you can't help but feel painfully embarrassed for the character. The way he berates his assistants, tries to get a friend in recovery to take drugs, constantly surrenders to his own paranoia and delusions, and takes narcissism and selfishness to the furthest excesses, it's all just unbelievably compelling. It's like watching the worst person in the world and wondering what insanity they're going to race towards next.

I thought that the performance by Phoenix was great. This is my absolute favorite movie by him, and my favorite "character" that he's played. It's not by accident that so many people thought this movie was a genuine documentary about Phoenix's spiraling life. He genuinely makes the character seem crazy enough to believe that his music is actually good and that the absurd things that he's saying have meaning. It feels real, even when you know it's not. Every uncomfortable, embarrassed and incredulous reaction of his friends and the people he meets just drew me deeper into the world of this bizarre man.

I was beyond impressed by what Phoenix and Casey Affleck did with this. When I first heard about it, it sounded like a vanity project that would be an amusing oddity, at best. What I got instead was one of the best movies I've seen this year. It is NOT for everyone. But how can I not rate a movie highly that made me laugh so much, while also making me feel sadness, disgust, pity, incredulity, anger, hope, embarrassment, and ten other things? 

This experiment was a smashing success, in my opinion, and something truly unique that I'll be thinking about for a long time. I'm Still Here is audacious, ridiculous, and certainly divisive. I can honestly see why some people would hate this movie, and the entire idea behind it. But, long before that perfect ending left my screen, I knew which side of that divide I would fall on.

One of the reviews that I read here said that this movie portrayed Joaquin as a completely unlikeable guys. Not a guy that you wanted to dislike, but one that you wanted to like but just couldn't…. And I could not agree more.

I gave the movie 7 stars, not because I liked it, but because I was so uncomfortable with all the cringe moments and the astounding stupidity at which our guy proceeds with all of his "choices". In other words, I gave it 7 stars because it smacked of some uncomfortable truth. Not all people will be that guy, but with enough money and "A" kissing from sycophants, a lot of people would become "that guy" (the guy that has toadies that will do whatever he says without question but hate him for asking because what he is asking for makes no sense or is completely, ridiculously stupid).

I Don't know Joaquin, so I have no idea if that was who he was or if this was fake or real… But regardless, he did a great job with this.

My husband seemed to really like this one… His take (and one that I like better than my own) was that this was a bunch of guys that seemed to really like each other and wanted to have a good time making a goofy movie about a stupid goofy guy…. In short, a bunch of dudes f^*king around… Joaquin was his own Michael Scott….

The reason why I saw I'M STILL HERE it's because of the many cameos by at least 100 celebrities but in hindsight it was best I skipped this one.

After Joaquin Phoenix got nominated for Best Actor for WALK THE LINE he announced that he left acting and focused on rap music. Then the movie follows him and his friend Casey Affleck and the set is staged for this mockumentary. What follows is just a series of vignettes where Phoenix starts his rap career, goes in various nightclubs, behaves like an annoying jerk and the viewer will simply lose his patience.

The concept looked good. After all, it can happen to everyone to change careers at some points or after some delusions. But Phoenix was annoying and the movie seemed to last forever. Scenes of him at home screaming like he was on drugs, cursing in night clubs and a long take of his swimming in a river... seemed to last forever and bored the hell out of me. And the many cameos by Sean Penn, Jack Nicholson, Danny Glover, Bruce Willis and some others didn't added nothing because blink your eyes and they are gone.

Overall, probably the worst mockumentary that has ever been made and honestly, if it was made as a short film it would have been better. Seeing 108 minutes of Phoenix behaving like a fool is some sort of endurance contest, and sometimes I felt to give up on the movie.

"Joaquin, I'm sorry you couldn't be here tonight." David Letterman

As a piece of performance art, I'm Still Here is as good a mockumentary about celebrity insanity as you will ever get, except, of course, for This is Spinal Tap, which is the real deal of satire. Director Casey Affleck follows his brother-in-law for more than a year after Phoenix's decision to retire from his successful acting career and become a hip-hop artist.

The iconic, Nick-Nolte-like image of Phoenix with a beard and sunglasses, a sort of Blues Brother and Smith Brother all in one, is both hilarious and sad, depending on whether you believe the story of his retirement or see it as a smart marketing campaign for this film and his career. His expertly scoring blow and constantly smoking weed have an authentic air about them although a good actor could simulate. His abuse of his many paid assistants is accurate for a star but almost unbelievable for such a talented one (Walk the Line, Revolution Road). The poor quality of the sound and image makes it a Blair-Witch kin or a device to evoke realism.

I am a disbeliever because although Phoenix convinces me he is sincere about retirement, the actual lack of talent he has, evidenced more than once in the film, leads me to think it's a finely-wrought hoax. No actor as smart as Phoenix could ever judge himself talented, especially as he forms a relationship with Sean Combs, one of the great rappers of our time and in the film a shrewd judge of Phoenix's sophomoric attempts. Phoenix's gig with Letterman, see quote at beginning, could have been a part of the hoax. Throwing up after a performance looked real enough.

Phoenix could make himself into a minor rap artist if he wanted—witness his successful learning to play guitar and sing as Johnny Cash—yet it seems he prefers not to learn well just so he can fail and return into acting, where the dollars will follow.

The title is instructive—does it mean the acting Phoenix is still here, or does it suggest his whole persona—musician and actor—is here. I don't know the answer; I just know my film critic side thinks it sees a con.

If it is all true, Joaquin Phoenix will have time to get back to his real talent, acting. If not, he'll spend time mending a reputation he has willfully wrecked.

I watched this movie twice: The first time when it just came out where I was unable to tell if this was real, partly real or the whole thing just a big hoax wanting to pass on a serious message. I guess I pretty much watched it as being real, I almost walked out part of the way as I really like JP and thinking that he would go down such destructive spiral made me sad for him, still I stayed til the end of the film, a clue in the end credits started convincing me that it was all an act.(I'll not mention what it is as I don't like to have spoilers, it's not a film description, it's my impression of the film).

The second time was tonight, October 21st 2019, I wanted to watch it again with the optic of knowing it was all a big hoax, actually if you think of it, an incredible hoax because JP had to pretty much stay in character for near two years, many months after filming was booked. But the important thing in this movie is the crude message of how easy it can be to go way up but fall way down and be unable to control the drop, it is a good film to understand the sort of mental distress fame may have on some famous people, how much stress it might be to have to constantly watch what you say or do as it does not seem to take much in this fickle world to get dumped and ridiculed. I can see where some might just loose it and just suddenly want to be themselves and do and say whatever they want without the constant self destruction clouds above them. Read all the negative reviews, some are a lot of fun hehe, some of the good reviews are interesting too and show empathy in understanding the message to gain behind the raunchy wrapper.

Though lacking direction at times, ISM contains somewhat of a soul through Phoenix and his heartfelt, self centered rants. Better yet, it offers a brief glimpse into the chaotic life of a character of his stature and that in its self is entertaining.

I'm still not completely sure how I feel about Casey Affleck's faux documentary. I didn't really have any expectations going in and I tried to remain open-minded as I watched it the first time. At this point, I've seen the film 2-3 times and I remain uncertain. For those who haven't seen a tabloid in the past few years, the film follows Joaquin Phoenix's "retirement" from the film industry to pursue a new career in rap music. Over the course of the film, we watch as his life slowly degrades. He tears into his friends and enjoys cocaine-fueled sex with hookers, and to make matters worse...his rap music completely sucks.

At this point, it's common knowledge (for those interested in following these sort of things) that the film was staged. Affleck and Phoenix aimed to shoot the film guerrilla-style and to use it as a satire of celebrity. I don't want to ruin anything for anyone who hasn't seen the film yet, so I won't mention what was real versus what was staged. I do wish that Affleck had waited until after the nationwide home video release to admit Phoenix's retirement was staged. I imagine watching this film with the mindset that Phoenix's actions could very well be legitimate would change the whole experience.

I suppose I would say the film is funny, but it's mostly an uncomfortable humor. Phoenix's crap rhymes an weak live performances make you want to laugh, but you almost feel bad for him. From what we're led to believe, Phoenix is making an "honest" attempt in the film to shift gears with his career and watching him flounder is almost embarrassing. Then his behind-the-scenes freak-outs on his friends will make you cringe. Phoenix does an excellent job portraying himself as a man in the midst of a major life freak-out here and it's easy to buy into the act.

The technical quality of the film isn't the greatest. It was shot on a variety of digital cameras and some of them were pretty low quality, and the editing is pretty shabby at times with ill-timed jumps. I suppose it does add to the homemade, low-cost quality Affleck was shooting for. Overall, it's an interesting movie. It didn't have me laughing out loud much but I was drawn in to watching a life fall to pieces in front of me.

Under normal circumstances, I might have given this title a slightly lower rating, but the criminally low scores given by some reviewers demanded a strong counterpoint.

This was an immensely intelligent and relevant film to come out of Hollywood, made by actors, celebrities in their own right, who are clearly sickened by the solipsistic egoism of the entertainment industry and its undeserved position of prominence in American culture.

The grotesque character Phoenix and Affleck bring to the screen, perhaps crystallized best in an instance where the former physically attacks a heckler during a performance and subsequently voids his stomach after all the exertion, instantly - and irrevocably - shatters the glamorous veneer that surrounds the category of 'the celebrity'. This, I suspect and fear, may be one of the reasons why some of the reviewers in these pages had an aversion to the film.

As a Brit, I've been brought up on slightly surreal, and often fairly, dark humour - a la Chris Morris's 'Jam' and 'Brass Eye'. But this really pushed things further, and I felt myself challenged as a viewer, which is always a good thing in my book.

My advice would be to watch this film and make up your own mind. Perhaps the best way to recommend this feature is to mention the fact that, almost 12 hours after having seen it, I still feel a warm sense of edification, a feeling that is rarely induced by watching movies (I'm more of a reader).

A timely satire that bursts the celebrity bubble.

I went into this movie thinking it would be pretty funny since it was a mockumentary of sorts. Parts of the movie, especially scenes with Antony or the bits where you actually get to hear Joaquin's music, were hilarious. Especially the music--I had to re-watch one of his songs a few times, it was just such a great scene.

But, the thing is, a lot of it is the type of humor you'd expect from a Jackass movie or something similar--very teenage-boy kind of humor, if you know what I mean. I think if you are in any way prudish, or easily disturbed, this film is definitely not for you.

Overall, it was a pretty good movie and I'm glad I saw it. Some of the acting was a bit overdone in my opinion, and at some points, it was easy to see that the film was scripted, but it's a pretty funny movie that reveals a lot of (sometimes shocking) truths about being a celebrity, and it makes it more clear as to why celebrities do some of the crazy things that they sometimes do.

Joaquin Phoenix was raised in a non-traditional performing family. Beginning in 2009, he is a big star but he's tired of the work. He decides to quit acting. He wants to rap and become a hip hop star.

This is a mockumentary. The problem is that Casey Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix had an idea while smoking something, and they actually went through with it. They want to make a shocking reality show and ends up making a pretty boring movie. The shock is for nothing more than for shock's sake. I don't care about this version of Joaquin. I don't laugh with him or at him. I laughed at the David Letterman interview but that's because of Letterman. This movie has little entertainment value. It is of some artistic value for how long he kept up the act.

This is unlike any other movie ever made. Inventive. Joaquin made a movie, he was in character at all times. Whether or not he broke character or there were flaws or slips in the film, he had to keep in character any time he was in the public eye. He wasn't locked away on a set or in a remote location. He wasn't shielded from scrutiny until every word or action was carefully crafted by editors. He was acting in plan sight, having to flow and improvise anytime he was around the media. These guys are made a film by catching the media off guard, a media hoax, instead of the media paying there rent by displaying or exposing celebrity.

This is the result of a history of celebrity turning the tables on the media. Edgar Allan Poe used the print media to conduct hoaxes for the end goal of entertainment and enlightenment. He manufactured a truth to raise questions, do you believe everything you read or hear in the case of Orson Wells? I commend the efforts and dedication that went into the making of this movie.

Also, I wish no one had let me in on the ruse until I had seen the movie. Being fooled is fun, it's why magicians will always be entertaining despite the fact that we may adamantly dismiss the existence of magic.

The question most people ask when talking about " I'm still here" is do you think it was real? That's the not the first question that springs to my mind. The most important question is - why?

If this was genuine ( and it clearly isn't) why would your brother in-law ( Casey Afflek ) document a respected actor going off the rails? And if it isn't real , why would you want to show yourself snorting coke , having sex with hookers and acting like a complete moron when it wasn't true.?

The reasoning behind this film is beyond me. Having said all that there are quite a few scenes that are really watchable. The old film footage of him jumping off a waterfall when he is about 5 years old is amazing . The scene where he's playing his CD to P Diddy is amusing and the final performance if his rap in a club and his attacking of an audience member looks as genuine as anything else in the film.

I'm not sure where Joaquin Phoenix goes from here because this project has quite clearly backfired on him , hoax or not , and all people will remember him by after this film is what an arse he is.