Rush once mused on the limelight, saying “one must put up barriers to keep oneself intact.” Our boy Joaquin Phoenix seemed to really have taken that sentiment to heart in 2008/2009, as he took part in a year long giant meta-anti-po-mo-hoax that saw Joaquin generally alienating/fascinating the public at large. Turns out, the whole thing was puppet mastered by Phoenix and his brother-in-law Casey Afflack, who turned the whole Lost Year of Joaquin into a documentary entitled I’m Still Here. That documentary has found a home at Magnoila Pictures and we can finally feast our eyes upon the whole sordid story September 10th when it hits theaters (via EW.com).
The movie marks the directional debut of Casey Afflek, (Gone Baby Gone, The Oceans Movies) who appears to have assembled a more ruminative and ontological Borat.
As we previously reported, the movie contains the Joaq ‘n’ Roll appearance on Letterman, J-Pheezy holding a meet with P-Diddy to see if he’ll lay down some beats for him, cocaine, hookers, BJs, defecation, and full frontal male nudity. However, the press-release for the film focuses on the deeper, more philosophical implications of Phoenix’s un-transformation:
“I’m Still Here follows the Oscar-nominee as he announces his retirement from a successful film career in the fall of 2008 and sets off to reinvent himself as a hip hop musician. Sometimes funny, sometimes shocking and always riveting, the film is a portrait of an artist at a crossroads. Defying expectations, it deftly explores notions of courage and creative reinvention, as well as the ramifications of a life spent in the public eye.”
Did the complete ridiculousness of Joaquin’s hip-hop antics and his avoidance of any sort of punch line to his jokes ruin any agency that could actually be cultivated with this film? Maybe Phoenix is in touch with some reality beyond the gilded cage. Mark it on your calendars: September 10th.
