Joaquin Phoenix Retires from Acting
It has been a really eventful week so far.
Barack Obama becomming the first non-white, Afro American to become the President of US, creating history.
Legendary movie maker B.R.Chopra passing away after giving us some wonderful movies and the Mahabharat TV serial.
And today morning, i saw the news of Michael Crichton, passing away of cancer at a very young age of 66. Crichton, the man behind Jurrasic Park, Disclosure, Congo, Rising Sun, leaving us so suddenly, was a shock for me. I read most of his novels, and also seen most of the movies based on his books. Anyway i would be putting up a separate and more detailed post on Crichton later, as i feel he deserves a full tribute.
This news item, was however a week back, and i caught it only couple of days back, while browsing the net. The headline said
“Joaquin Phoenix to retire from acting”
Was this some kind of crank news item? Or a very poor joke, it was not even April?
But on confirming it later, and then watching his interview on You Tube, i knew it was true.
And that begged the question Why?
For me Joaquin has been one of my favorite actors always. In fact he is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood. Inspite of his good looks and talent, he never really got his due. Could this be the reason?
But then it was not like Joaquin was a burnt out case. He gave some awesome performances in Gladiator, Quills, Ladder 49 and Walk the Line. In fact for me it was Gladiator, that made me a fan of Joaquin. In fact the scenes between him and Russel Crowe were some of the best in an otherwise not too great movie. In a role that was totally negative, and facing off with an actor of Crowe’s stature, Phoenix held his own at every moment. As an ambitios, insecure and totally ruthless Roman Emperor Commodus, who murders his own father, for the throne, he was just brilliant. I loved his expression in the scene, where he murders his own father, Emperor Marcus Aurelius, played by Richard Harris. The way he expresses a look of cruelty, vindictiviness and his expression when he stabs his father, was just chilling. I would rate Joaquin’s performance as Commodus as one of my favorite bad guy acts.
In fact i think most of the time, in his career he played conflicted or tormented individuals. I guess because of his Latino background( he is Puerto Rican), he combines sensitivity with a macho look. In fact in all his performances i find a lot of depth and sensitivity, much more than some of the other Hollywood mainstream stars. In To Die For, a black comedy starring Nicole Kidman and Matt Dillon, he played a teen, who is seduced by an older woman, played by Nicole Kidman, and then trapped into getting rid of Dillon. While in the 2000 flick Quills, about the life of Marquis De Sade, he played the role of Abbe De Coulmier, a conflicted priest. In fact he fitted pretty well in period dramas.
Two of his best performances however came in Manoj Night Shyamalan movies, Signs and The Village. Of all Shyamalan movies, i felt Signs was one of the best, and that was due to Phoenix’s performance as Mel Gibson’s brother, an ex baseball player who is brooding over his failure to make it to the major leagues. Ironically his habit of swinging at everything, which proves to be his undoing, comes in handy in the climax scene, where he hits the alien with a wild swing of his baseball bat. First rate performance there. He was equally good in The Village, as the village youth, who feels it is necessary to travel in the woods to get the supplies of medicine.
In Hotel Rwanda, a movie that had a towering performance from Don Cheadle, as the movie’s main character, Paul Russesebegina, Phoenix still manages to create an impact, as a sympathetic photographer, who is totally disillusioned with the Western world’s apathy to the crisis. And in Ladder 49, a movie about firemen, he really moves you with his portrayal of Jack Morrison, a fireman trapped in a blazing flame. You want him to be rescued from it, and when he finally perishes at the end, you feel sad for him.
And his piece de resistance came with Walk the Line. Playing the role of country singer Johnny Cash, he learnt the guitar for this movie, and the way he gets into the skin of the character is brilliant right down to Cash’s hairstyle. He is just brilliant in the later scenes when he becomes a drug addict and totally neurotic. One of the best performances ever, it was a pity that he did not get the Oscar for this.
The reason given by Phoenix was that he wanted to devote more time to his music career and social activism. Now considering the fact that most actors go on and on, right up till their 50’s and 60’s, Phoenix’s decision was a real shocker for him. He had already proved himself as an actor, and was slowly establishing himself, why this sudden decision to retire? Was it due to the fact that after Walk The Line, his movies were not too great ones? Or was it because he felt a stranger in Hollywood?
For me i could guess the later reason. Phoenix was never at all comfortable with Hollywood’s high flying lifestyle. His brother River, had died of a drug overdose, and when Phoenix made the 911 call to save his brother’s life, it was repeatedly played over the media. Joaquin found this media intrusion too overwhelming and he went off movie world for some time. I guess he found himself a stranger in Hollywood, and he felt more comfortable in the music world.
Well whatever only Joaquin Phoenix, would know best, and i feel really sad, that i would not be seeing one of my favorite actors on the screen. For me the only way, i guess is to look for his music videos, and yes see some of his later flicks. And as a parting shot, here is a clip from Gladiator.
Tags: Gladiator, Joaquin Phoenix, Ladder 49, Manoj Night Shyamalan, Quills, Signs, Village, Walk The Line
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his “reservation road” was also very good.
Absolutely adore Joaquin Phoenix and am sad that he won’t be among the talent to look forward to in films anymore.
Just a correction though, he is not Puerto Rican, but was born on the island while his hippie parents were moving around through Central and South America “finding themselves”…
Sad that we cant see much of Joaquin Phoenix. I watched his Two lovers recently. Wonderful performance.
@ Ravi: Have not seen RR, but promos look good.
@ Nina: Yeah me too feel sad about that, considering he is one of my favorites.
@ Venkat: Again another movie i guess on my 2 see list.
I discovered River Phoenix very late and became instant fan of his…liked Joaquin Phoenix too, sad he is quiting
He is a real good actor who didn’t get his due there is one gooodd movie os him I think most people missed ‘We OWn the night’ he is real awesome in the movie and the movie too.
Bad that I will no longer see his movies.