If you’re looking to get a wee little taste of actor/director Casey Affleck, watch his two most recent works, I’m Still Here, a mockumentary about academy award-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix’s’ supposed career switch from acting to hip-hop, and The Killer Inside Me, a sort of macabre indie film based on a 1952 crime novel about a cop-turned killer, set in a small Texas town.
I’m assuming most of you are familiar with the controversy surrounding Joaquin Phoenix’s “career change” in late the fall of 2008. For those who aren’t, here’s the link to the painfully awkward David Letterman interview where he first announced to the world that he was going to stop acting (and shaving) and become a “rapper”, or more accurately, a mildly hip Hasidic Jew. Immediately there was speculation that this was an elaborate hoax, especially after he announced that this career change would be documented and directed by his brother- in- law Casey Affleck. Though our bearded friend confirmed that the whole thing was fake shortly after the documentary was released, the period leading up to its’ release (roughly 2 years) left the general public wondering if this incredibly talented actor and seemingly well-mannered artist was actually on a downward spiral perpetuated by bad decisions, bad rapping, and bad hygiene. After watching the documentary the first time, I was honestly perplexed. On the one hand, it isn’t unheard of for creative people to experience extreme emotional peaks leading to breakdowns and career-suicides. The documentary certainly did a good job of illustrating this, showing Joaquin’s raging temper tantrums, public embarrassment, and recreational drug use. On the other hand, after watching the film a second time, the actors’ newly-acquired persona seemed too perfectly cliché. From the weight gain to the fiery temper, cocaine and call girls, to the grotesque attempt at rapping, it became too reminiscent of Motley Crue behind the Music to actually be real. And of course, I later found out that Phoenix had actually gone on the Letterman show again to plug the new documentary and fully confessed that the whole change of career and lifestyle had been a scheme, birthed by his amazement that people actually think reality TV is unscripted. Though some people believe his claim that it was all a hoax is due only to the fact that his hip-hop career never actually took off, I think it’s safe to say that our clef-lipped compadre pulled a fast one on us. Bravo Joaquin, bravo. Grade: B+
On a completely different keel is The Killer Inside Me. This movie flew under the radar for most movie-goers, including myself, and although I thought it to be an overall decent film, I can see why it didn’t experience much commercial success. The premise is something like this- Casey Affleck plays a detective in a small Texas town during the 1950’s. Though on the outside he seems normal, even boring to some, he is actually a violent sociopath with a taste for rape and murder. Though the movie is brilliantly shot, brilliantly acted (at points), and is filled with grade-A cinematography, the film, in my opinion, made one key flaw-Character Development. In films like this, character development is probably the most crucial factor. When a movie contains difficult and controversial subject matter such as violence, rape, and domestic abuse, you have to justify that content by showing the audience why that material is necessary. In this case, it was part of who this character was. He was a complex and divided protagonist, split between being an enforcer of the law and a twisted killer, shaped that way partially by childhood events and partially by his own demented psyche. Had there been more emotional character development, the viewer would have a clearer understanding of the intent of the films more squeamish scenes. This cinematic tool was almost non-existent in the film, and therefore the more graphic scenes were perceived by most to be more for shock-and-awe value, instead of an integral part of the story. That all being said, I’ve always been a big fan of the younger Affleck, and thus it’s hard for me to be overly critical. Not his best work, but fo sho worth seeing. Grade: B-
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