TMS Spotlight: The Timeless Appeal of Joaquin Phoenix

(Glen Luchford)

While watching Baz Luhrmann’s new, colorful feature Elvis this past week—after so much hype and publicity for the King of Rock & Roll’s first big screen biopic—my mind kept going back to James Mangold’s Walk the Line (2005). The hit film on the King of Country Music, Johnny Cash, is considered by many the prototype for the modern music biopic; but to also some mockery [see: Jake Kasdan’s Walk Hard (2007), which lampoons the movie genre, and uses Walk the Line as the plot basis]. But besides paying homage to Cash and his wife June Carter, it also certified lead stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon as A-list, earning Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Actress [with Reese winning]. I personally love Walk the Line, and one reason is because it was my gateway into becoming a big Joaquin fangirl.

Many viewers and critics are predicting Austin Butler and Olivia DeJonge could rise to stardom with their performances in Elvis, and that could very well be the case. I thought Austin was impressive and successfully carried the otherwise flawed biopic on Presley. But his portrayal didn’t instantly make me want to seek out the rest of Austin’s work the way Joaquin’s performance in Walk the Line did for me. I was already a fan of Reese from movies like Gary Ross’ Pleasantville (1998), Roger Kumble’s Cruel Intentions (1999) and of course, Robert Luketic’s Legally Blonde (2001). But Joaquin’s career wasn’t on my radar as a 1990s kid, since most of his movies beyond maybe Ron Howard’s Parenthood (1989) weren’t really in the same demo. But after Walk the Line was released when I was in 11th grade, I wanted to learn more about the man who toddles the line between global movie star and respected character actor. If Ralph Fiennes is the modern male actor I’ve been following the longest, and Joaquin is probably the second.

By 2005, I was vaguely aware Joaquin was the younger brother of up-and-coming indie actor River Phoenix, who sadly died at age 23 on Halloween in 1993 of a drug overdose. Their whole family also surprisingly used to be involved with the infamous Children of God cult before abruptly abandoning ship and starting over in Hollywood; focusing mostly on River’s child stardom in classic movies like Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me (1986) and Sidney Lumet’s Running on Empty (1988). During this period, Joaquin went by the nickname ‘Leaf,’ because he felt left out with all his siblings having nature themed hippie names like River, Summer, and Rain. Joaquin was actually a child actor as well, but he mostly stuck behind River’s success, and even took a five-year break from showbusiness after Parenthood. The next time audiences saw him was in Gus van Sant’s dark comedy To Die For (1995), using his birth name for the first time professionally. Van Sant previously directed River in one of his best films, My Own Private Idaho (1991), so I imagine Joaquin felt comfortable returning to the spotlight with familiar company [which also included co-star and one-time brother-in-law Casey Affleck].

(Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures)

The younger Phoenix spent the rest of the ‘90s in indie flicks like Oliver Stone’s U-Turn (1997), David Dobkin’s Clay Pigeons (1998) and Pat O’Connor’s Inventing the Abbots (1997), usually as the highlight. The latter also co-starred Joaquin’s then girlfriend Liv Tyler, whom he was in a semi-publicized relationship at the time. In 2000, Joaquin officially broke into stardom with supporting roles in Ridley Scott’s blockbuster hit Gladiator and Philip Kaufman’s critically acclaimed Quills. The former gained the actor his first Oscar nomination, and would be the beginning of the prime of Joaquin’s hype. Two M. Night Shyamalan hits—Signs (2002) and The Village (2004)—an animated Disney movie [Brother Bear (2003)], and Terry George’s historical drama Hotel Rwanda (2004) followed before Joaquin was cast as The Man in Black. Walk the Line is like Michael Apted’s Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980), in that it not only honors the artist it’s about, but is also a showcase for the lead actor’s talent. Johnny Cash supposedly approved Joaquin’s casting before dying less than a year before filming. Watching the feature and listening to the soundtrack, it’s wild that it’s all Joaquin without any archival footage or lip synched playback accompanying him. No disrespect to Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance in Bennett Miller’s Capote (2005), but if I had been a part of the Academy that year, my vote would have gone to Joaquin.

Joaquin’s accolades and popularity have only continued all these years later, with another Best Actor nomination for PT Anderson’s The Master (2012) and a win for Todd Phillips’ Joker (2019). His second collaboration with Anderson, Inherent Vice (2014) reunited Joaquin with Reese; The Yards (2000), We Own the Night (2007), Two Lovers (2008) and The Immigrant (2013) shaped a solid partnership with filmmaker James Gray; and Spike Jonze’s sci-fi romcom Her (2013), Lynne Ramsay’s suspenseful You Were Never Really Here (2017), and Mike Mills’ sweet uncle-nephew tale C’mon, C’mon (2021) show Joaquin’s versatility. There was a short step backwards when the star and Casey Affleck made the faux documentary I’m Still Here (2010), which just confused people more than anything else. These days, both Joaquin and his fans unsurprisingly neglect its existence. I’ve said this in the past, but the biggest shock about Joaquin Phoenix is that after years reported as one of Hollywood’s biggest partiers and bachelors; he successfully settled down for marriage and a family with actress and past co-star Rooney Mara and their son, also named River [b. 2020].

And good for him. Not many people can juggle the titles of actor, activist, family man, heartthrob and celebrity. Who else can hold a large fanbase and have no presence on social media these days like a traditional superstar? Joaquin wears a lot of metaphorical hats and that’s what makes him stand out as one of kind.