8 unforgettable reincarnations of Joaquin Phoenix

Gladiator

Action, drama, adventure.
USA, UK, 2000.
Duration: 155 minutes
IMDb: 8, 5.

When Roman General Maximus (Russell Crowe) is set up and his family is massacred on the orders of a corrupt imperial son, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to take revenge in the arena.

One of the first major roles of Joaquin Phoenix and to this day remains his most famous. The image of the cruel and capricious Emperor Commodus not only brought the budding star audience love and an Oscar nomination, but also secured it in the list of the best villains in the history of cinema.

Cross the line

Drama, melodrama, biography, music.
USA, Germany, 2005.
Duration: 136 minutes
IMDb: 7, 9.

A chronicle of the life of legendary country singer Johnny Cash, from growing up on a farm in Arkansas to his rise to fame and romance with singer June Carter.

The second major success in the career of an actor, after which they started talking about him as a virtuoso performer who can pretend to be anyone. It was not in vain for the sake of the role of Phoenix that he not only learned to play the guitar, but also volunteered to perform all of Cash's songs on his own.

Lovers

Drama, melodrama.
USA, 2008.
Duration: 110 minutes
IMDb: 7, 1.

American romantic drama based on the novel "White Nights" by Dostoevsky. In the story, the bachelor Leonard lives with his parents, who have long been planning to marry an over-aged son to the daughter of their acquaintances. Everything is ruined by Leonard's unexpected love for the beautiful neighbor on the staircase.

One of the few lyrical, even intimate roles in Phoenix's filmography, which revealed a sophisticated artist in him. It was with the "Lovers" that the actor proved that he can not only effectively transform physically, but also deeply sympathize with his characters.

I'm still here

Mocumentaries, drama, music.
USA, 2010.
Duration: 108 minutes
IMDb: 6, 2.

Casey Affleck's disguised documentary drama about Joaquin Phoenix trying to become a rapper.

Crazy in design and fearless in execution, filming I'm Still Here is the quintessence of Phoenix's method of reincarnation. For the sake of a role in a half-joke project of a friend, the actor publicly renounced cinema, grew hair and honestly was a rapper for two years, performing in clubs and refusing any offers from producers. The change was so powerful that they started talking about Phoenix as the new Marlon Brando.

Master

Drama.
USA, 2012.
Duration: 137 minutes
IMDb: 7, 1.

A Navy veteran returns home from World War II and falls under the spell of a charismatic leader of a religious movement.

The film by Paul Thomas Anderson is the first of two creative collaborations between the famous director and Phoenix. In The Master, the actor got the most complex character of a former military man full of internal demons caused by post-traumatic stress disorder and social instability of the 50s. To the credit of Phoenix, he not only brilliantly played the difficult role of a neurotic, but invented his own body language for the hero, and in one of the scenes he went into a rage so that he cracked a real urinal.

She

Melodrama, drama, fantasy.
USA, 2013.
Duration: 126 minutes
IMDb: 8, 0.

In the near future, the lonely writer enters into a romantic relationship with an operating system designed to meet all of his needs.

Pink shirt, high-waisted trousers, mustache, glasses - who would have thought that the Emperor Commodus from "Gladiator" and the overgrown rapper from "I'm Still Here" could look so charming. It was worth waiting for Spike Jones, who turned the serious Phoenix into a sweet but sensitive bummer, and made one of the most poignant films about love.

Congenital defect

Drama, melodrama, comedy, crime, detective.
USA, 2014.
Duration: 149 minutes
IMDb: 6, 7.

In 1970, drug-fueled private detective Larry Sportello embarks on a search for an ex-girlfriend who disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

In Birth Vice, the second film in his career as a star directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Phoenix is cast in the hilarious role of a hippie detective. The actor did not miss the opportunity to demonstrate all his talent. More importantly, it is one of the few roles that showcases the breadth of Phoenix's performing range, from overt farce to outright hallucinogenic nightmare.

You were never here

Thriller, drama, detective.
USA, 2017.
Duration: 90 minutes
IMDb: 7, 5.

An injured war veteran and former FBI agent rescues the kidnapped daughter of a senator from the hands of rapists with a hammer.

Joaquin Phoenix plays the ultimate hitman in the film by the outstanding Scottish director Lynn Ramsey. And this is the darkest role you've ever seen on the big screen. The Phoenix hero is an open wound, a person outside the present, living only with childhood fears and desperately opposing them, as well as evil from the outside. Benefit performance of one of the best actors of our time, for which Phoenix received the Cannes Film Festival jury prize.