Category Archives: Joaquin Phoenix

#166 Favorite Films, 2019 Films, Bill Camp, Bradley Cooper, Brett Cullen, Brian Tyree Henry, Frances Conroy, Joaquin Phoenix, Justin Theroux, Robert De Niro, Thriller, Todd Phillips, Top 250 Films, Zazie Beetz

Joker-2019

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Joker-2019

Director Todd Phillips

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro

Top 250 Films #166

Scott’s Review #953

Reviewed November 1, 2019

Grade: A

Joker (2019) is a film that has divided audiences. Some love it, others loathe it. The experience is not your standard fun, superhero fare, with a hero’s rescue and the good triumphing over evil.

Despite the parlay into Batman territory, the film smacks the viewer across the face with its brutality, violence, and social and psychological injustices.

Joaquin Phoenix pummels the audience with an angry and bitter portrayal of the title character, easily one of the best performances of the year.

In one of the first scenes, before we even know the character, we experience a long, close-up of Phoenix laughing hysterically. We wonder what is so funny, before the revelation that he, Arthur Fleck, suffers from a nervous condition that causes inappropriate outbursts.

The year is 1981, and the fictional Gotham City, clearly a mirror image of New York City, serves as the setting. Times are tough, and crime is rampant.

Arthur lives in a dumpy apartment with his sickly mother, Penny (Frances Conroy), and visits a social worker regularly to receive his prescription medicine.

Arthur finds meager work as a party clown and aspires to be a stand-up comedian. After a gang attacks him in an alley, Arthur’s co-worker, Randall, encourages him to take a gun. Arthur invites his neighbor, single mother Sophie, to his stand-up comedy show, and they happily begin dating.

Finally, another person understands him. Segments of the population are disenfranchised and impoverished as Thomas Wayne, a billionaire philanthropist, runs for mayor of Gotham. A strange connection develops between Arthur, Penny, and Thomas, becoming central to the plot.

Can we discuss Phoenix’s bravura performance for a moment?

Suppose anyone thinks that Heath Ledger was phenomenal when he portrayed the same character in 2008’s The Dark Knight. In that case, they will be elated by Phoenix, who elevates the character to an entirely new level.

What Phoenix adds is strong sympathy for Arthur/the Joker and a care for the character. We feel sorry for him, but should we? He is a villain after all. One could easily debate whether his character can be considered the bad guy or the hero.

Regardless of the assessment, the performance is unforgettable.

A turn-off to some, which I found tremendously powerful, is the role reversal in the portrayal of the Wayne family, Bruce, and Batman characters.

Always deemed the “good guys”, in Joker, Thomas Wayne is self-centered, pompous, and embodies a sense of entitlement and snobbery.

Bruce is a young boy, but the implication is that the family is unkind, and what might the child grow up to believe?  Why is Batman/Bruce Wayne heralded as good and the Joker evil? It turns the tradition upside down into a twisted mind warp, and this is wonderfully creative and thought-provoking.

The best scene in the film, which triggers much of the subsequent violence and chaos, occurs when Arthur is invited to appear on a late-night talk show hosted by Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro). A week earlier, Franklin had played a humiliating clip of Arthur poorly performing stand-up.

Arthur decides to appear in full “Joker” attire, and the eventual discussion and words lead to tragic events. The scene is tense, intelligently written, and combative as the men spar over politics and class distinction.

Lastly, the musical score is dark, haunting, and mesmerizing without overtaking the film. Many key scenes of Arthur dancing and posturing are masterful, with the inclusion of the bombastic music.

He is a celebratory character, in his mind at least, and the music fuses into the scene with gusto and power. The combination of clowns and an incredible score adds significantly to the production.

Joker (2019) showcases a marvelous acting performance on the part of Phoenix, which combines a haunting musical score in its depth.

Providing a social commentary for people experiencing poverty and disenfranchisement, this film will divide viewers, probably based on preconceived expectations of a traditional Marvel-type superhero event.

The film offers much more than safer films like Wonder Woman (2017) or Black Panther (2018) ever could- a dark and violent character study.

Oscar Nominations: 2 wins-Best Picture, Best Director-Todd Phillips, Best Actor-Joaquin Phoenix (won), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score (won), Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing

2005 Films, Biography, Drama, James Mangold, Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Patrick

Walk the Line-2005

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Walk the Line-2005

Director James Mangold

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon

Scott’s Review #1,264

Reviewed June 8, 2022

Grade: A-

An example of exceptional casting, Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, flawlessly depict country music stars Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, respectively. Both embody the real-life troubled stars, he more than she, and bring to life the biopic Walk the Line (2005).

Perturbing only slightly is Witherspoon’s win for Best Actress and Phoenix’s lack of a win for Best Actor. He deserved the win, up against the stiff competition, and she perhaps won because of a soft year in the Best Actress category.

I also think her performance teeters on a supporting turn but the decision was made to include her in the lead actress category.

But one could argue Oscar’s imbalances or missteps all day long.

Nonetheless, they both shine especially during any scenes they appear in together especially music-related. The chemistry is the main reason for the film’s success and recognition of the figures it portrays.

Walk the Line begins with the examination of the rise of country music legend Johnny Cash (Phoenix) beginning with his humble days as a boy growing up on the family farm in rural Arkansas, where he struggles with his father’s (Robert Patrick) anger and bullying.

As the years quickly go by, Cash ends up in Memphis, Tennessee., with his wife, Vivian (the underrated Ginnifer Goodwin), and breaks into the music scene after finding his successful country sound.

While on tour, Cash meets the love of his life, singer June Carter (Witherspoon), but Cash’s volatile lifestyle threatens to keep them apart.

The risk of rock star biographies is that they can suffer from relying too heavily on cliches or become a one-trick pony with a predictable ending. Towing the standard line is fine but a truly great film needs something to blow the viewers away.

The story is rather standard since we know the pair get together and face rough times, but the sweet spot is Phoenix and Witherspoon. They make the audience believe every nook and cranny of their relationship, warts and all.

Both actors reportedly sang, played their instruments, and seemed to live the lives of the country stars, all without help, giving Walk the Line much credibility.

Since Phoenix is a method actor this is unsurprising.

My only disappointment with the film is Witherspoon winding up with Oscar gold and Phoenix not. Thankfully, this would change with his win for the brutal portrayal of The Joker in Joker (2019).

I love how the beginning of Walk the Line starts with a legendary performance in Folsom State Prison in 1968. Events then backtrack to 1944 before finally culminating with present times again.

Director, James Mangold plays the safe route with the finale. Cash unsurprisingly performs “Ring of Fire” on stage and after the song, Cash invites June to a duet and stops in the middle and proposes.

June accepts and they share a passionate embrace on stage. Johnny and his father reconcile their relationship.

This is a warm and satisfying ending and rather refreshing after having to squirm through various scenes of Johnny’s drug abuse and scrapes with the law. Mangold also prominently features dark storylines like the loss of Johnny’s brother and his father’s abuse.

Hats off by the way to Robert Patrick for a powerful performance as Ray Cash.

Walk the Line (2005) is a Hollywood film but one made well and pleasing to the eyes and ears. It pays tribute to the legendary stars because of dynamic acting performances and duets that make one fall in love with the songs all over again.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Actor-Joaquin Phoenix, Best Actress-Reese Witherspoon (won), Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing

2018 Films, Alessandro Nivola, Crime Thriller, Ekaterina Samsonov, Independent, Independent Thriller, Joaquin Phoenix, Judith Roberts, Lynne Ramsay, Thriller

You Were Never Really Here-2018

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You Were Never Really Here-2018

Director Lynne Ramsay

Starring Joaquin Phoenix

Scott’s Review #932

Reviewed August 19, 2019

Grade: A-

You Were Never Really Here (2018) is an independent psychological thriller that is most reminiscent in tone and texture of the legendary Scorsese film Taxi Driver (1976).

The main characters are worlds apart, but the classic influences the plot and trimmings amid a different period (the present).

A terrific and brooding performance by star Joaquin Phoenix leads the charge, as does the fantastic direction by Lynne Ramsay and the editing team. The dark film is an unusual and impressive choice for a female director.

Snippets of cinematic genius exist during a film that, with a more complete package, might have been a masterpiece.

We first meet Joe (Phoenix) somewhere in Ohio, as we learn he is a hired gun sent to rescue underage girls from sex trafficking rings. He is brutal in his methods of rescue, resorting to gruesome murders to complete his assignments, and is paid handsomely.

In New York City, he cares for his elderly mother, whom he adores, and is contacted to rescue Nina, the daughter of a New York State Senator, Albert Votto, for an enormous sum.

When Joe rescues Nina and waits for Votto, events quickly spin out of control, revealing a sinister web of deception.

When you look at the story that You Were Never Really There tells, it has been told many times before, typically in slick Hollywood conventional standards.

An angry ex-military man unleashes brutality on devious criminals, rescues the girl, and returns her safely to the open arms of her awaiting parents.

Fortunately, the film is more thoughtful than that, adding complexity to the Joe and Nina relationship and a stylistic, poetic quality featuring Joe’s relationship with his mother.

The plot is paced very well so that the events occur over only a day or two, and the film is highly unconventional and dark.

Frequent flashbacks give the film mystique as we see both Joe and his mother abused by Joe’s father, as a young Joe hides in a closet and hyperventilates. Now an adult, Joe is suicidal, frequently fantasizing or practicing his death until he is interrupted.

As grisly as the film can be, beautiful and tender moments are laden throughout as Ramsay provides gorgeous style and humanity. a homoerotic moment occurs when Joe lies next to the man who has killed his mother.

As the man is close to death at the hands of Joe, they hold hands as Joe provides comfort to the man in death. Joe then buries his mother in a pond in upstate New York, providing her with a peaceful final resting place. These are unique scenes that feel almost like an art film.

The conclusion is open-ended, leaving lots of questions. Joe and Nina appear to ride off into the sunset together, but what will they do? What is to become of them? Surely, no romantic element can be found, but where will they go from here?

Both characters appear to have nothing left to hang on to other than each other, but is this sustainable?

The film is not the type that is poised for a sequel, but I would be very curious about what Ramsay has planned for her characters.

Joe is not portrayed as wicked; he is too complex for that. Phoenix, a tremendous actor, perfectly infuses the character with brutality, anger, tenderness, and warmth.

The similarities between You Were Never Really Here and Taxi Driver—the grizzled New York portrayals, the political backdrop, and the main characters saving a woeful young girl from the depths of despair—make the two films comparable.

However, Joe and Travis Bickle are opposites, the latter having frenetic humor that the former lacks.

Ramsay has been around for a while, with We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) being her most prominent film. She is successful at telling stories about deeply troubled individuals who are good people given awful circumstances.

With a tremendous actor like Phoenix on board, she crafts a solid work that has garnered accolades, at least among the indie critics, for You Were Never Really Here (2018). Ramsay seems poised to break out in a big way and shake up the film industry with future works.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 1 win- Best Feature, Best Director- Lynne Ramsay, Best Male Lead- Joaquin Phoenix, Best Editing (won)

2013 Films, Dagmara Domińczyk, Drama, James Gray, Jeremy Renner, Joaquin Phoenix, Marion Cotillard, Period Drama, Romantic Drama

The Immigrant-2013

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The Immigrant-2013

Director James Gray

Starring Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix

Scott’s Review #293

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Reviewed December 5, 2015

Grade: A-

The Immigrant (2013) is a lovely, classic, old-style Hollywood film set in early 1920’s New York City.

The film is a classic tale of a poor Polish immigrant who travels to America in hopes of a better life, only to be met with hardship, manipulation, and conflict.

However, The Immigrant is not a downer. Rather, a powerful and intriguing story of life and the clichéd pursuit of happiness with a compelling love story mixed in.

Nominated for Best Actress for Two Days, One Night, eligible the same year as The Immigrant, this is a good example of how the Academy got it wrong as Marion Cotillard should have been nominated for this performance instead of the other.

The actress was, however, recognized with an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress for this role. A true talent, she gives a wonderful performance.

Little is known about Ewa’s (Cotillard) life before she arrives on Ellis Island with her sister Magda in tow. We meet them as they disembark a ship and wait in line on the immigration line, weary from their escape from war-torn Poland.

They have escaped their native country in hopes of a better life in the United States.

Unfortunately, Magda is ill and cannot hide a cough and is sent to the infirmary most likely before being sent back to Poland. Ewa desperately needs money and is told that her Aunt and Uncle have not shown up to collect her as she had originally thought.

Ewa is now on her own and desperate in a land where she knows not a soul.

As the plot unfolds, Ewa encounters two men who enter her life- Bruno (Joaquin Phoenix) and Emil (Jeremy Renner)- brothers with a rivalry, both professionally and in regards to Ewa. They both fall in love with her- she is gorgeous and innocent after all.

But can the men be trusted? Are their feelings true? We begin to get to know the men better and all may not be exactly as it seems or originally appeared to be.

The Immigrant perfectly captures the 1920s era cinematically with gorgeous cinematography and camera work.

Directed by James Gray, a director with a tendency to direct films set in New York City and feature a romantic element (Two Lovers comes to mind- also starring Joaquin Phoenix as a Jew pursuing a blonde girl).

In The Immigrant, I felt like I was transported to the 1920s with Bruno’s dark coat and bowler and the character’s costumes in general.

The Lower East Side, from the automobiles to the theaters, seems like that’s how it was back then- charming, artistic, and yet combustible too.

Marion Cotillard gives a soft yet tough performance as the long-suffering, heart-of-gold Ewa. The character’s yearning to keep her traditional catholic values while transported into a new and dangerous world filled with corruption and the need to survive is heartbreaking and Cotillard wears her heart on her sleeve.

She is also tougher and more stubborn than we first think she is- she will not be taken advantage of and these aspects give the character complexity.

I did not see her as a victim.

Let’s not forget the men in the film and while it borders on turning into a “woman’s movie” towards the climax, and Cotillard is front and center, Phoenix and Renner are flawless.

Phoenix, with the larger role, is extremely complex and it takes the audience until the final scene to entirely figure Bruno out.

I wish The Immigrant (2013) would have found a wider audience, but for fans of a traditional, classic, romantic Hollywood experience, this film is a treat.

It will take you back to an earlier time in the world- in a completely authentic way.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Female Lead-Marion Cotillard

2014 Films, Benicio del Toro, Comedy, Crime Drama, Dark Comedy, Drama, Eric Roberts, Film noir, Hong Chau, Jeannie Berlin, Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Katherine Waterston, Martin Short, Maya Rudolph, Owen Wilson, Paul Thomas Anderson, Peter McRobbie, Reese Witherspoon

Inherent Vice-2014

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Inherent Vice-2014

Director Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin

Scott’s Review #255

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Reviewed July 7, 2015

Grade: A-

Inherent Vice (2014) is a bizarre detective film noir-type experience, set in 1970 Los Angeles.

Directed by the superb Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights-1997 and Magnolia-1999), the film has weirdness and incoherence that is a marvel to experience.

Fans of a straightforward plot will not be thrilled with this film, but for fans of Anderson, this will not disappoint. It has a complex plot, but the payoff is grand and a thinking man’s film.

The protagonist is Larry “Doc” Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix), a stoner private detective, contacted by his mysterious ex-girlfriend Shasta. She is worried about attempts by her boyfriend’s ex-wife and new lover to kidnap him and have him committed.

Mickey, Shasta’s boyfriend, is a wealthy real-estate developer.

Doc is also hired by two other people- one a former heroin addict looking for her missing husband, and the other a former convict looking for a prison mate who owes him money and is a former henchman of Mickey’s.

All of the stories intersect and such oddities as a peculiar massage parlor and a ship named the Golden Fang come into play throughout.

The intersecting stories lead to the revelation of a drug ring. I had little idea what was happening but was still enthralled by it.

There is an unpredictability surrounding Inherent Vice that is so pleasing and captivating. Joaquin Phoenix is compelling as Doc, a damaged character whose past is unclear.

When Doc is, by all accounts, framed for the murder of a convict and interrogated by the police, we wonder what history he has with them and what led him to branch out on his own as a private investigator.

Detective “Bigfoot” Bjornsen, wonderfully played by Josh Brolin, is a rival of Doc’s, though it is unclear why. “Bigfoot” is frequently seen with chocolate-covered phallic objects in his mouth and is married to a severe, overbearing woman.

Most characters are peculiar and have strange nuances, yet are never fully fleshed out, instead of remaining curious and thought-provoking.

Reese Witherspoon, Benicio Del Torro, and Owen Wilson appear in small yet pivotal roles.

Quite reminiscent of Roman Polanski’s Chinatown (1974) and Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973), in both the California setting and the plodding, slow-paced, magnificent storytelling, Inherent Vice is a confusing gem, but by all means a gem worth seeing and reveling among the intrigue.

Just don’t try to make too much sense of it all.

Oscar Nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 1 win-Robert Altman Award (won)

2013 Films, Amy Adams, Bill Hader, Brian Cox, Chris Pratt, Drama, Independent, Independent Drama, Joaquin Phoenix, Kristen Wiig, Olivia Wilde, Romantic Drama, Rooney Mara, Scarlett Johansson, Science Fiction, Spike Jonze

Her-2013

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Her-2013

Director Spike Jonze

Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johannson

Scott’s Review #147

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Reviewed August 5, 2014

Grade: A-

Her (2013) is a very unique film directed by Spike Jonze.

The film tells the tale of a lonely, depressed man named Theodore, played by Joaquin Phoenix, who lives in a beautiful high-rise in futuristic Los Angeles.

He works as a writer for a company that creates intimate cards for people in relationships. Having suffered a recent divorce, he falls in love with his computerized operation system named Samantha, played by Scarlett Johansson- voice only.

Conflicts emerge as the relationship deepens and intensifies. Her is a love story uniquely crafted, but also a story of loneliness and the world of technology we now live in.

It portrays human relationships as troubled and unsuccessful yet several characters have wonderful relationships with computers.

Is this what the future may bring with human beings? How many people have fallen in love with a fantasy or a voice on the phone?

The film ponders why relationships have been changed due to technological advances and wonders what will happen further into the future. Technology, while wonderful, has changed our interpersonal relationships and this film successfully delves deeply into that aspect.

The conversation is a lost art and Her features the joys and the tragedies of technology.

Visually, the film is successful because it portrays Los Angeles in a sophisticated, ultra-sleek, modern way that is fascinating.

Several technological games are featured (the Alien child is brilliantly comical) and the “Mom points” is fascinating in its irony.

Her is a deep film that raises questions and I applaud this in modern cinema.

Her is a slow-moving film, but a questioning one.

It won the 2013 Best Original Screenplay Oscar and I am so glad the academy recognized the originality of this film.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay (won), Best Original Score, Best Original Song-“The Moon Song”, Best Production Design