This weekend I saw the Joaquin Phoenix documentary I’m Still Here, directed by Phoenix’s brother-in-law Casey Affleck. (It just opened at the Harvard Exit). If you haven’t heard, this is the much-gossiped-about film where the Oscar-nominated Phoenix retires from acting and embarks on a new career in hip-hop (the film’s title is taken from one of Phoenix’s rap tracks, which he is shown performing in full at a Miami nightclub. It’s awful). The barely lucid Phoenix spends much of the film trying to get Diddy to produce the record (see the above clip).I’m Still Here is filthy. Seriously, it’s one of the most vulgar movies I’ve seen; it’s also a confusing mix of hilarious and pathetic/sad/sad/sad. (Hint: the rapping thing doesn’t really work out). And by the end of it, I still wasn’t sure it was actually real or not — is this a giant hoax? Or is this guy just crazy? Or both?? Did he actually think he could be a rapper? Was that Letterman thing staged? Did he actually throw his career in the trash just for the sake of this movie? Our film guru Brian Miller is going with the hoax theory, but I’m still not convinced. Did anyone else see this movie and want to weigh in? Is I’m Still Here a documentary or a mockumentary?