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!
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!