best film: The Master. Anderson seems to believe that The Master is the best (or hinting at that by saying it’s the film he’s most proud of) film he’s made. I’m not there (at least yet). After being baffled by it twice in theater I now believe it to be one of the best films of the decade. Gladiator is rock solid, Her is great, and the films with James Gray give Phoenix tremendous depth (three out of the four are in the top 10 of their respective year) but it’s The Master here in this category by a landslide.
best performance: The Master and we’re miles away here form everything else enough though he’s impressive in films 2-7 (6 and 7 are probably You Were Never Really Here and Gladiator). We’re 18 months from the end of the decade and Phoenix has given easily the best male performance of the decade thus far. Freddie Quill is one of cinema’s great characters. Phoenix nails the ticks, the posture, the face as a craggily façade. The processing sequence is screen acting at its finest.
stylistic innovations/traits: My guess is Phoenix will continue to climb up this list but we’re still so close to The Master and some of his recent work it’s tough to gain the correct perspective. Work like The Master doesn’t come along often though and Phoenix is no one-hit wonder. His work with Gray remains vastly underappreciated. Walk the Line and Gladiator are solid performances that help round out a resume but it’s really The Master and his work with Gray that has got him inside the top 50 (though I’m still processing his most recent collaboration with Ramsay).
directors worked with: Gray (4), PT Anderson (2), and Ridley Scott once
Top 5 Performances:
- The Master
- Two Lovers
- We Own the Night
- Her
- Walk the Line
Archiveable films
| 1989- Parenthood |
| 1995- To Die For |
| 1997- U-Turn |
| 2000- Gladiator |
| 2000- Quills |
| 2000- The Yards |
| 2002- Signs |
| 2005- Walk the Line |
| 2007- We Own the Night |
| 2008- Two Lovers |
| 2012- The Master |
| 2013- Her |
| 2013- The Immigrant |
| 2014- Inherent Vice |
| 2017- You Were Never Really Here |
Do you think he should have won the oscar in 2012?Where does his performances in You were never really here(2017) and Joker(2019) rank?
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@Janith- sorry- missed this. This is a definite yes on winning the oscar in 2012.
What will be the other two performances if you rank his top 10?
@Janith– hmm- I’ll have to redo this now with Joker, You Were Never Really here is right there, Gladiator he’s superb. The Immigrant. Inherent Vice. I’m just listing films but that would probably the top 10
what about his performance in the Quills(2000)?
This is random but check this article about Werner Herzog saving Joaquin Phoenix’s life after a car accident:
https://theplaylist.net/werner-herzog-joaquin-phoenix-car-accident-20200323/