Revisting The Film

Casey Affleck -- “I'm Still Here” (2010)
Casey Affleck seems to be gearing back up for another busy period, signing on to “Out Of The Furnace” and Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” recently, and of course leading this week's wonderful "Ain't Them Bodies Saints," but he reportedly needed a bit of a breather after directing the faux-documentary “I’m Still Here.”
Effectively sold as a lie to the public and media (and the latter is not famous for enjoying being duped, and will roast you for it later), “I’m Still Here,” was positioned as a documentary about the increasingly eccentric behavior and unthinkable career trajectory of actor Joaquin Phoenix.
The three-time Academy Award-nominated actor famously went on David Letterman to announce that he had “quit” acting, grew a scraggly madman beard and declared that he was going to launch a hip-hop career.
And so Phoenix dropped out of movies for almost two years while the actor played the part of “Joaquin Phoenix,” a hirsute freak of ever-enlarging girth who behaved strangely, unpredictably and even violently when he showed up in public. Was fame getting to him? Was he addicted to drugs? Having a slow mental breakdown in public?
On the eve of the film’s release, Affleck and Phoenix admitted that it was none of the above, and “I’m Still Here,” was essentially a hoax — Phoenix was fine and the brothers-in-law (Affleck is married to Phoenix’s sister) had created a rather brilliant Andy Kaufman-esque art project/prank about celebrity and the nature of reality TV, the media and those who consume it.
If anything their commitment to this project, (Phoenix alone turned down several million dollars in acting opportunities along the way) was absolutely staggering, and as for the movie itself? Well, it works, whether you know the gag or not, as a fascinating, funny exploration of a man in a veritable trainwreck of psychological distress.
Appearances by P.Diddy, Mos Def and Spacehog guitarist Antony Langdon (a friend of Phoenix’s) are hilarious and Phoenix delivers a tour-de-force performance as the fabricated worst version of himself possible. Both Phoenix and Affleck had to lay low for at least a few months to let the media anger subside, but if you’re over being had (and we never understood that rage, to be honest), “I’m Still Here,” is an excellent, convincing and prescient look at a lost soul desperate for spiritual rebirth in exactly the kind of environment that will never allow it.
And it's also a well-made film, suggesting that while Casey's instincts may be more provocative, Ben is not the only Affleck with a future behind the camera."

INDIEWIRE


"a malcontent who knows how to spell"