Another Top 10 Joaquin Phoenix Movie Performances

“The Sisters Brothers” (2018)



Based on the 2011 Patrick deWitt novel of the same name, “The Sisters Brothers” is dramedy about a pair of assassins in the old west. Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly bring the titular brothers to life as Charlie Sisters and Eli Sisters, respectively. Now, Phoenix was certainly in good company playing opposite Reilly, and the addition of Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed only makes things easier, but his is nonetheless (arguably) the standout performance of the bunch. While Eli has doubt about their bloody lifestyle and dreams of something simpler, Charlie is drunk, angry, violent, unpredictable and wholly committed to their career as killers. It’s one of Phoenix’s lesser known recent films, but a must-watch for any committed fan.

“Buffalo Soldiers” (2001)



This 2001 satire, set around the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, follows Joaquin Phoenix as Specialist Ray Elwood, a soldier in the U.S. army. In the eyes of his commanding officer, Col. Berman, he’s the definition of a good soldier, but in reality, Elwood is anything but. He’s actually heavily involved in the trafficking of heroin in West Berlin’s black market, and when a new superior rolls in, his carefully balanced disaster of a life is totally upended. Elwood is one of those characters who is at once despicable, but also utterly magnetic thanks to his devilish charisma. In lesser hands, this incorrigible character could have felt two-dimensional, but Phoenix’s performance sells it.

“8mm” (1999)



Hard as it might be to believe, this 1999 crime film about snuff films was directed by Joel Schumacher. Yeah… the same Joel Schumacher behind “Batman & Robin”! Clearly he was looking to distance himself from campy super-heroics as much as humanly possible. And in Nicolas Cage and Joaquin Phoenix, he found willing accomplices. The film tells the story of PI Tom Welles (played by Cage), as he investigates the apparent on-screen murder of a girl found on 8mm film. Enter Joaquin Phoenix as Max California, a sensitive clerk at an adult video store and his guide to L.A.’s sexual underground. The film bombed with critics, but it’s worth checking out if only for Phoenix’s performance, which many critics highlighted.

“Ladder 49” (2004)



Joaquin Phoenix is known for playing eccentric, troubled, and strange characters. He inhabits these roles in ways that few actors can pull off, but in a certain sense, it’s almost more impressive to see him similarly excelling in a more relatable role. In “Ladder 49,” he plays Jack Morrison, a dedicated firefighter. Over the course of the film, we get an overview of his adult life, both professional and personal, and bear witness to risks inherent to his career choice. Morrison’s life has been one of heartbreak, trauma, and sacrifice, and yet he remains committed to his calling, always willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice. The film gets heavy-handed at times, but Phoenix’s deeply human performance grounds it in genuine sentiment rather than emotional manipulation.

"The Yards” (2000)



Directed and co-written by James Gray, “The Yards” is a 2000 crime film about the competing contractors hired to repair railway cars in NYC, and the lengths to which they’ll go to come out on top. As Willie Gutierrez, Joaquin plays a young man who fully leans into and embraces the corrupt lifestyle that comes with his line of work. He works hard, plays hard, and hustles even harder. The character seems to have an unshakable confidence in himself despite the fact that, at any moment, his world could come crashing down. In the role, Phoenix switches faces on a dime - fun-loving and charming one moment, a terrifying force of violence and intimidation the next, but always vibrating with energy. It’s truly remarkable.

“Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot” (2018)



In this 2018 film, released by Amazon Studios and directed by Gus Van Sant, Phoenix plays real life artist, cartoonist, and musician John Callahan. After a car accident leaves John a quadriplegic, he tries to come to terms with his own alcoholism with the support of AA, channeling his frustrations into his dark and macabre cartoons. The film didn’t get a whole lot of attention, which is a shame because it did well with critics and the cast, including Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, and Jack Black, is fantastic. Phoenix is in full swing here, expressing the unwieldy frustrations of his character in masterfully chaotic and humorous fashion - and Hill is right there with him. The end result is a biopic that’s utterly unique.

“Quills” (2000)



Between Geoffrey Rush, Michael Caine, Kate Winslet, and of course Joaquin Phoenix, there’s a whole lot of great acting going on in this underrated film. A period drama directed by Philip Kaufman, it’s a reimagining of the end of the life of the Marquis de Sade. Phoenix plays Abbé du Coulmier, a role that demands he play it subtle and nuanced in a film jam-packed with big characters played by even bigger names. And you know what? One could argue that Phoenix’s performance is the one that has aged the best. Quiet, contemplative, but oh so deliberate, Phoenix’s performance is a lesson in “less is more.”

“We Own the Night” (2007)



In this crime drama, Phoenix plays Bobby Green, a manager of a nightclub in 1988 Brooklyn. Though he comes from a family of cops, Green has chosen a life of pleasure. But despite his attempts to distance himself from his family, the fact that Russian mobsters frequent his club puts him in the middle of a messy conflict. Like so many of his best roles, Phoenix plays Bobby as a deeply conflicted individual, a man who attempts to remain aloof and detached, only to dive headfirst into a world of extreme choices and actions. The film was less well-received than Joaquin’s previous collaboration with director James Gray, but in a film made up of archetypes, Phoenix stands apart by playing Green complex and nuanced.

“You Were Never Really Here” (2017)



We’ve seen Phoenix don a wide variety of masks throughout his career, but never has he played such a visceral and brutal force of violence than in this psychological action thriller. In the movie, Phoenix plays Joe, a deeply troubled man who uses his military and FBI experience, coupled with the fuel of his own history of abuse, to rescue a girl who has been kidnapped. Phoenix doesn’t say a whole lot in the film, but with his body language, facial expressions, and limited dialogue, he speaks volumes about this character’s inner turmoil. It’s strange to call an exercise in violence and despair such as this “beautiful,” but what Phoenix does with the role is a masterclass in acting, further elevated by the Ramsay’s direction.





Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few more honorable mentions



Jack Daglish

“Hotel Rwanda” (2004)





Kenai

“Brother Bear” (2003)





Clay Bidwell

“Clay Pigeons” (1998)

“Joker” (2019)



Various actors have been tasked with bringing this iconic character to life on the big screen over the years. And each of them has done something a little different - for better or worse. We’re not here to pit Phoenix’s performance against that of Ledger or Nicholson; that’s for another time and a much larger discussion. What we will say, however, is that with “Joker,” Phoenix has turned in the performance of a lifetime. He plays Arthur Fleck as a man utterly unhinged, and yet, for all his criminal insanity, he somehow remains sympathetic - if not relatable. He’s a tragic character, one who is at-once hard to watch but impossible to turn away from due to the sheer magnetism of Phoenix’s acting.