I'm Still Here

Casey Affleck

Overview

Oscar-nominated Walk the Line star Joaquin Phoenix announces that he's retiring from acting to launch a hip-hop career as his brother-in-law Casey Affleck captures the curious transition on camera in the film some are labeling an elaborate Andy Kaufman-style prank. In the fall of 2008, Phoenix shocked his fans with the announcement that he would no longer be appearing in features, but instead trying his hand in the music business. In the wake of a particularly bizarre appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, everyone began to wonder if the eccentric actor had finally fallen off the deep end. In this film, Affleck follows Phoenix as he attempts to convince Sean "Diddy" Combs to produce his debut album, and responds to a request by Ben Stiller to appear in director Noah Baumbach's Greenberg with casual indifference.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/23/2010
UPC:	0876964003520
Original Release:	2010
Rating:	R
Source:	Magnolia Home Ent
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:48:00
Sales rank:	64,276

Special Features

Closed Caption; Commentary with Casey Afflect, Joaquin Phoenix, Nicole Acacio, Larry McHale, Anthony Langdon, Johnny Moreno, Eddie Rouse, Matt Maher, Elliot Gaynon and Sue Patricola; Commentary with Casey Affleck; Deleted scenes (Commentary with Casey Affleck); Audio conversation with Jerry Penacoli "Extra", Casey Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix; Audio conversation with Christine Spines (journalism professor), Casey Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix; Jerr Penacoli "Extra" interview with Joaquin Phoenix; Alternate ending outtakes (commentary with Casey Affleck)

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Marty Fogg

Composer

Technical Credits

Casey Affleck

Joaquin Phoenix

Casey Affleck	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
Joaquin Phoenix	Screenwriter,Producer
Amanda White	Producer

Editorial Reviews

I'm Still Here is a bold experiment in blurring the lines between documentary and fiction filmmaking, alternately maddening and brilliant. Only viewers who saw it during its theatrical run might have thought it was "real" -- just as a bearded Joaquin Phoenix held a famously disjointed interview with David Letterman on his show, he also famously came back on to explain that his antisocial persona was a hoax, concocted by him and his brother-in-law (Casey Affleck) just for this film. But it may help a viewing of I'm Still Here to know it was fake, because it lets the viewer appreciate just how far the filmmakers went to convincingly approximate reality. Some of this stuff is amazing on a purely technical level; in one scene, a camera follows Phoenix into a club bathroom and appears to show him vomiting in the toilet just inches away, and in another, a scorned assistant videos himself defecating on Phoenix while he's sleeping. One would assume both stunts were fake, but you wouldn't know it from looking at the film. As much as the pure commitment of the participants is worth admiring, there's no doubt I'm Still Here feels like a chore at times. Phoenix' fictitious breakdown is a downward spiral into delusions of grandeur, drug use, sex with prostitutes, and poor hygiene, so watching that character spew venom over the phone in his underwear can certainly get old. For this reason it's a relief that the pace starts to pick up in the second half, when the prospective hip-hop artist plays his music for Sean "Diddy" Combs (who was supposedly in on it), when the famous Letterman appearance actually transpires, and when Phoenix goes totally off the reservation in his quest for spiritual rebirth. There's no doubt I'm Still Here will divide audiences between those who love a good practical joke and those who find Phoenix unforgivably self-indulgent, but everyone should be able to acknowledge the achievement on the level of pure gutsy spectacle.