When I first saw Joaquin Phoenix on the David Letterman show a couple of years ago in his now infamous appearance, I thought at that he was a really good actor. He appeared either to be drugged or on the verge of a serious mental breakdown. From that point the media went on speculating whether or not he was really disturbed or was this a hoax. He has now since come clean and said that it was an elaborate hoax put together by him and his brother in law Casey Affleck, which directed the film. This "documentary" shows Joaquin's desire to retire from acting and pursue a career in hip hop. The film takes us through his attempts to get a producer for his album, writing of some of his lyrics and deals with what would seem as his demise. The best thing that I can say about the film is that it confirms that Joaquin is a very good actor, but that this attempt at studying "celebrity" is really saying nothing new. This film wants us to see a tortured artist, working towards his musical dream. Anyone who likes hip hop, which I don't, would know that the music that Joaquin was writing was terrible, it's so terrible that it is the films biggest giveaway that the whole think was a hoax. There are scenes with certain celebrity friends, that also don't feel real. And their is a climactic performance that ends up with Joaquin jumping into the audience and fighting with a heckler. The whole thing is a ruse, but the truth is it isn't done well enough to have any impact. Joaquin's performance as himself is good, he is a fearless actor that doesn't mind making himself look foolish, but I couldn't help but thinking that this was all just an ego trip project for him, seeing if he could dupe the public into thinking he was nuts. The film isn't as clever as it thinks.

Grade: C