A Reel Review: I'M STILL HERE

Oscar winner Casey Affleck makes his directorial debut with I’M STILL HERE, a “documentary” which serves as a video diary of now-retired actor (and Oscar nom) Joaquin Phoenix’s attempt to break into the hip-hop music business.

I’M STILL HERE is more about the man (Phoenix) than it is the music (thank you God). Affleck takes a fly-on-the-wall approach to the film; he just hides in a corner and lets the cameras roll. The film offers no narration to set things up, and instead lets the reality of the situations drive the story.

Affleck gets a lot of help to make this flick an engaging, albeit flawed experience. Casey needed only to show up and press record, as Phoenix’s head-scratching behavior unfolds in front of the lens. But Casey still manages to edit smartly, intercutting television clips and home-video of Phoenix to create a clever story. The film opens with a young (8 or 9 years old) Phoenix swimming in a gorge, and shows him nervously jumping off of a rockface into the water. The use of metaphor; the man standing on a precipice with the great unknown in front of him, is heavy in the film and happens often.

Phoenix gives Affleck (his brother in law, by the way) unlimited access, and this creates a feeling of intimacy that draws the viewer in and holds the attention. Phoenix finally opens up about his past misery as an actor; unable to be free to express creativity or show his true self (driven home by another clever metaphorical-shot of Phoenix letting go of a captured bird). Phoenix is seen as closely as can be, and despite his erratic and asshole-face behavior, compassion can be felt for the man looking to restart his life. We can feel his confusion as Edward James Olomos tries to talk sense into him, and feel his pain when P. Diddy tells him his music sucks.

Back to the asshole-face behavior. Affleck lets the cameras keep rolling as Phoenix treats his friends like crap, snorts coke, smokes weed, and bangs ugly hookers. For what its worth, any proponent of legalizing any drug need only to view the slurring, fat Phoenix with his shirt off to feel compelled to go home and re-think their lives.

The fly-on-the-wall treatment is very engaging, and it’s difficult to take your eyes away from the events unfolding. The only problem(s) the film has is that it has no real beginning, and no real end. Although Phoenix makes his reasons for quitting Hollywood clear, the cameras do not come into play until after the decision is made, so the defining moment (and there has to be one) of when he decided to become a fuckup is unclear. The film also feels unfinished; mostly because it is. The finale comes just as Phoenix has encountered yet another setback in his pursuit of a musical career, and leaves off with him seemingly contemplating his future.

So is it a documentary or a mockumentary? The question remains unanswered (which may frustrate some viewers). Certain scenes seem a bit too convenient, but if Phoenix is acting, then it is the most dedicated 24/7 performance the world has ever seen. If it is staged, then the film works as no one else seems to be in on the ruse (ala BORAT). The reality of his situations (like his dwindling bank account) is hard to fake. If it’s real, then even those who have no interest in seeing Phoenix lose his goddamn marbles will still find themselves sucked in and kept there.

BOTTOM LINE: See it.