alan-nutter
Warning – this review contains major spoilers – please do not read on if you do not wish to made aware of a key aspect of the film.I find it hard to believe that this movie has not been rated more highly by both IMDb users and the critics of the time.I deliberately entitled this review The JP Method - it is one of the most well produced examples of method acting ever captured.Joaquin Phoenix inhabited an obnoxious caricature of himself for two years whilst making this movie both in public and in private. His performance was so good that he managed to fool many people into thinking that he was having a very public meltdown.Yes there were a few cast members that were made aware of the movie's intentions, but it would not have succeeded without these people.My rating is based more on this impressive, sustained piece of method acting than on the movie itself, as I believe it's a fairly unique achievement.The proof of success is that the only award the film received was a "Documentary" award from the Venice Film Festival. Surely that is the greatest recognition of this method acting that it fooled people who make a living within the movie industry.Even if you ignored my early warning and have not yet seen the movie, if you are interested in acting and cinema, I would still recommend that you watch. I myself was already aware of the facts behind the movie before I sat down for a viewing and possibly found it all the more fascinating as a result.I find it astonishing that a recognised actor would risk playing a part like this which required such real life public humiliation.
darkfabric
My goal was to avoid this movie. I even imagined spending my entire 15 minutes of fame advertising this fact. It was the only way I could possibly maximize Joaquin Phoenix's chances of hearing about my protest. Much too lazy and impatient to wait for my spotlight, however, I finally gave in and watched it last night.The movie features actors, playing roles. A joke is implied. I didn't end up getting it. This made me feel the joke was on me. I didn't like that feeling, which is not to say I can't laugh at myself. But in order for me to join in my own deprecation, I need to understand the gag. This realization didn't sit well with me. Afterward, a few things occur in the movie that may or may not be scripted. Then credits mentioning a host of important friends roll, signifying the end.It's a vehicle, about which only one thing need be said: see summary.
Chris L
Huge trip of Casey Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix who decided to film in this mockumentary the fake career change of JP, from the movie set to the recording booths as an apprentice rapper.Now that everyone knows this was a hoax, the movie becomes pretty much pointless and will only be remembered for a few memorable scenes like the final rap at the nightclub and the fake fight that followed.Still, this movie should be seen at least once for the rather incredible performance of the actor who had to embody his role of a wannabe rapper for a year and a half on each public appearance which might have been his most difficult and greatest role to date.
ecvespertine
A performance in a poorly written story. Casey Affleck and Joaquin focused to much on the character development and not enough on writing. The final edit comes together like some loosely joined college art film. The interviews from Casey Affleck make him sound like you are stuck on a date with an untalented musician talking about their new album. Very similar to Joaquin's character in fact. I really don't think there is much that is special about this film, except some individual sequences. These shots strung together make for a poor story. The fact I walked away from a movie not feeling for or identifying with the character, did interest me, but all in a negative way. Shouldn't the reader/viewer be able to identify with the character and their struggles. This just makes both Affleck and Phoenix (and perhaps all of Hollywood) come off as more disconnected from reality then the people they are making films for. To think that their is such a circle that no matter how unsuccessful your endeavors are that there really is no consequences for certain people. They always have their PR team and an entourage telling them their crap doesn't stink to fall back on, and when all else fails you can fly home to Daddy on a private jet.
AD
