No matter what role he takes on, Joaquin Phoenix always commits. He’s the type of performer who, regardless of the quality of the film he’s in, can never be accused of holding anything back. When at his best, he embodies deeply flawed characters teetering on the edge of destruction, often in unexpectedly profound ways.
Over the last two decades plus, watching him onscreen has been like seeing a shapeshifting spirit take the form of successive others. Whether he’s bringing to life a troubled musician like Johnny Cash in Walk the Line or a traumatised hitman in You Were Never Really Here, Joaquin is an actor who can disappear completely into characters that come across as larger-than-life, as well as those who are woefully meek and broken.
His most recent turn in Beau Is Afraid – Ari Aster’s polarising odyssey of mommy issues and isolation – sees him play a man who is almost receding into himself, in typically unflinching fashion. So, in celebration of this equally mesmerising and off-putting cinematic experience, here’s a ranking of every performance Joaquin Phoenix has given us.
36. Russkies (1987)
Back when he was just a fresh-faced young lad who went by the first name Leaf, Joaquin got his first starring role in Russkies that, to be frank, sounds like a fake movie. It follows three American youths befriend a Russian soldier after he washes up on the shores of a Florida beach. Meant to be wholesome and charming, it is instead as cloying as it is poorly made.
35. It’s All About Love (2003)
Filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg would go on to make some great dramas such as The Hunt and Another Round, which only makes his crack at romantic science fiction in It’s All About Love all the more baffling. Telling a story of climate change, conspiracies, and clones (which sounds like it could be a unique combination at the very least), it remains an ambitious attempt at something more that is still a misfire.
34. 8MM (1999)
From the moment Joaquin appears as the edgy Max California, a street-smart smut peddler who will lead private investigator Tom (Nicolas Cage) into a world of illegal pornography as he investigates the origins of a potential snuff film, it is hard to take anything that follows seriously. Once Max unceremoniously exits, it then devolves into a standard revenge flick whose ending comes as a relief.
33. Inventing the Abbotts (1997)
Sometimes there are movies that, when not forgettable, just feel incredibly misguided in how lifeless they are. Inventing the Abbotts – about two working class brothers in the 50s – feels artificial and utterly lacking in a supposed story of youthful romance that is just empty melodrama. At least some of its period settings are put together well.
32. Reservation Road (2007)
A feel-bad movie that is also just plain bad, Reservation Road starts with a child dying in a car accident and only gets worse from there. Joaquin as Ethan, a grieving father desperate for answers, is a role of his that feels a little overwrought – especially when the film’s ending goes completely off the rails.
31. Brother Bear (2003)
How’s it going, eh? Just dropping in to say, save for the Canadian Moose brothers yucking it up, Brother Bear is a work of animation that doesn’t hold up even for those who watched it on a loop as children. It is rare in that Joaquin hasn’t done voice acting since, but there is nothing remarkable to it beyond this.
30. Ladder 49 (2004)
A well-intentioned look at the lives of two hardworking firefighters, one played by Joaquin (who carries the entire film on his back) and the other by a miscast John Travolta, Ladder 49 is hard to truly hate, though equally so to love. While praised for its technical accuracy, the drama itself just never rises to meet the moment.
29. Mary Magdalene (2018)
Did you know that Joaquin Phoenix played Jesus? No, this was not for a comedy sketch. Rather, it was for a film about how Rooney Mara’s Mary Magdalene became one of the first to follow him. It is an admirable biopic of sorts that tries to reclaim the story of Mary, but ultimately fails to create much depth in her character. Oh well.
28. Spacecamp (1986)
Better known for its unfortunate release after the tragic Space Shuttle Challenger accident, an instance of unfortunate timing if there ever was one, this sci-fi adventure film following four teenagers is unbearably quirky without ever really earning its silliness. Centred around an “impossible mistake” that sends kids into space, the greater error may just be the existence of this film itself.
27. Irrational Man (2015)
There is one good thing that can be said about Irrational Man: you’ll end up knowing in a real personal sense what it means to be as depressed as its main character once you’ve sat through all of this misery. JQ and Emma Stone are innocent in their understated contributions to the film, though its disgraced director is very much not.
26. I’m Still Here (2010)
I’m Still Here wants what Nathan Fielder has. A mockumentary where Joaquin plays himself after saying that he will cease acting to become the world’s worst rapper, it is memorable for his commitment to the character in public that gave us his infamous David Letterman interview. It works for a bit, though becomes completely wearisome the longer it all ends up dragging on.
25. We Own The Night (2007)
While there is a film worth watching, that is helmed by James Gray and features Joaquin and Mark Wahlberg, We Own The Night is not that. The neo-noir movie isn’t without some redeeming qualities, especially in terms of its leading performances, but its cliché story just remains far too familiar on the whole to ever stand out.
24. U Turn (1997)
In U Turn, Joaquin plays a violently eccentric man whose given name is Toby N. Tucker, though he goes by TNT. Well, he has those initials shaved on the back of his head. This was apparently a stroke of goofy genius from the actor himself, who suggested it to director Oliver Stone, making it one of the few elements of the film that feels remarkable. The movie builds to a killer ending, but it still comes far too late to provide any real salvation.
23. Clay Pigeons (1998)
Perhaps there is a good version of Clay Pigeons, but it isn’t the one we got – the most memorable part of this one is yet another unique hairstyle donned by Joaquin. It may be more enjoyable to watch than going out to shoot actual clay pigeons, but it becomes increasingly defined by excess, and ends up working to the detriment of its audience’s engagement.
22. The Yards (2000)
This first collaboration between Joaquin and James Gray is a classic noughties thriller – the story takes place years after Mark Wahlberg’s Leo took the fall for a crime he didn’t commit, and he is brought into a life of yet more crime by Joaquin’s character Willie. This clichéd unravelling is elevated by its star performances, but the plot still ends up falling a bit flat.
21. Return to Paradise (1998)
A remake of the 1989 French film Force majeure (not to be confused with the Ruben Östlund skiing one, this is a different movie entirely), Return to Paradise has a strong premise that is simply never executed properly. Despite being the ostensible centre of the story, as a man imprisoned over trumped-up drug charges, Joaquin is not a driving force in this one and the film suffers for it. He gives it his all, but the battle for our attention is ultimately lost.
20. Buffalo Soldiers (2001)
A lesser satire on this list, Buffalo Soldiers does its best to adapt the 1993 novel of the same by Robert O’Connor – with mixed results. Joaquin is solid as a disillusioned American soldier stationed in West Germany during 1989, but the smugness that is baked into the experience soon proves to be suffocating. It’s always nice to see Anna Paquin on screen, even as she is given very little to actually do.
19. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
To get serious for a minute, Hotel Rwanda is hamstrung by how it could and should have gone farther in confronting the complicity of those who didn’t intervene in one of history’s darkest chapters. But even with compelling performances from Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, and JQ, there remains far too much that this well-intentioned depiction glosses over and blinks in the face of, when it could and should have gone deeper.
18. Quills (2000)
A period film for Joaquin that isn’t a misdirect, Quills was what helped bring him into the spotlight. While he was not the original actor the film’s directors wanted for the role (Jude Law, Guy Pearce and Billy Crudup were all apparently in the running), it does see him shining, alongside Kate Winslet, in what is an otherwise punishing work that charts the final decade of the life of the Marquis de Sade.
17. Joker (2019)
This movie feels like it came out more than a decade ago because of how exhausting the discussion of it was. The greatest joke to Joker is perhaps that its enduring legacy is the Letterboxd review: “This happened to my buddy Eric.” Joaquin’s performance is unsettling, but there are many tiresome aspects to Todd Phillips’ movie that weigh it down. Here’s hoping his power combined with that of Lady Gaga’s can make its unnecessary follow-up, Joker: Folie à Deux, better than this.
16. Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot (2018)
There is a version of this biopic that could’ve fallen into cliché after cliché until you would vomit. Thankfully, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot manages to mostly sidestep all of these potential pitfalls. This collaboration between Joaquin and Gus Van Sant sees the actor playing the real-life cartoonist John Callahan based on his own memoir. Much of it can end up feeling a bit incidental, but Joaquin works hard to elevate it.
15. Parenthood (1989)
A dramedy that saw a young Joaquin acting along an all-star ensemble cast that included Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, Marth Plimpton, and Keanu Reeves, Parenthood captures the many dysfunctions to be found in one’s family. The film thrives in gently poking fun at its characters just as it shows them real love. Which, if we’re all being honest with ourselves, is pretty much what holds most families together.
14. Gladiator (2000)
A film where Joaquin is at the height of his smarmy powers as the corrupt Commodus, perpetually tormenting Russell Crowe’s Maximus, Gladiator will always hold a special place for just how rewatchable it is. While not a masterpiece, it is an unbeatable Saturday afternoon watch that is just light enough on its feet to work. No matter its flaws, there is a thrill in just getting to see Joaquin chew up and spit out every line he gets in this one.
13. To Die For (1995)
While not the most subtle of satires, Gus Van Sant’s To Die For is a kind of dark comedy that doesn’t get made nearly as much as it should anymore. In it, Joaquin is a young boy named Jimmy who is tasked with killing the husband of Nicole Kidman’s Suzanne. You know, just average kid stuff. It isn’t the best film in which Joaquin plays a hitman, not by a long shot, but it still manages to be killer fun.
12. Two Lovers (2008)
Didn’t know that Joaquin was in a film that drew inspiration from a story by Fyodor Dostoevsky? Well, he absolutely was in yet another collaboration with director James Gray that was the tragic Two Lovers. Playing the self-destructive photographer Leonard Kraditor, it sees the actor authentically capturing the perils of loneliness one more. Breaking through this is the potential that, if its title didn’t give it away, he could be with two different women, played by Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw, that come into his life. Sombre yet refreshingly sincere, it ends with one final heartfelt pushing away of the darkness.
11. The Sisters Brothers (2018)
As comedic as it is crushing, The Sisters Brothers was a box office bomb that deserved far better. While it seems to have a grudge against horses, who really take a beating in increasingly horrifying ways that just keep getting more painful, there is so much care put into the characters. Starring Joaquin as Charlie Sisters, alongside John C. Reilly as Eli Sisters, the film gets a lot of mileage out of their chemistry as they travel all over the West to carry out a hit – but the bumbling duo stumble across calamity after calamity. Any glamour or glory to this ‘adventure’ soon evaporates as the repeated failures are the point of the entire experience. It can be more than a bit gruesome, but the closing to this sordid saga becomes fittingly bittersweet.
10. The Village (2004)
While many viewed this as the beginning of a bit of a slump for filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, who has continued to be prematurely written off, they are all wrong as this remains one of his very best. As part of a community living in an isolated 19th-Century community, Joaquin’s Lucius wants to help those that are suffering though is told that they are not ever allowed to leave. The mystery at the core of this film is important, but it is also merely a small part of the moments where the film reaches out with an open hand to take you deeper into more evocative emotional sequences of near silence. For all who get hung up on the director’s twists, this one works even better on subsequent viewings as a grim deception weighs heavy in every single frame.
9. Inherent Vice (2014)
The highest of highs to which all stoner noir can only aspire to, Inherent Vice is the first of two films from Paul Thomas Anderson on this list. An adaptation of the novel of the same name by Thomas Pynchon, it is meandering and more than a bit maddening, yet it proves to be wonderful – if you can let it wash over you. With Joaquin donning some marvellous mutton chops to take on the role of private detective Larry ‘Doc’ Sportello, he is merely the beginning of a rogues’ gallery of great actors all letting loose. While inflected with melancholy, it is overflowing with mirth as it tosses aside typical narrative constraints. One only wishes there were more films that kicked down the door of conventionality and had such fun doing it.
8. Signs (2002)
Set almost entirely on a farm as a family barricades themselves there when something not of this Earth comes down, with a small television in a closet serving as the sole portal to what is happening in the world, it is a tense thriller built around paranoia that still feels timely more than two decades later. Shyamalan’s direction in particular does wonders, instilling genuine dread out of even the simplest of scenes. However, there is also something unexpectedly moving it discovers in how the past echoes into the future. Much of this comes down to Joaquin as Merrill Hess, the more inquisitive force driving the film, who quite literally takes hold of the entire story in the conclusion, and kicking it up a notch when needed.
7. Walk the Line (2005)
There is nothing more tiresome than a bad biopic. They are a dime a dozen, coming out every year and essentially serving as a retelling of a famous figure’s Wikipedia page with no life to be found anywhere. That is why Walk the Line, even as it is not entirely immune from all these trappings, still stands out. Mainly, it is how Joaquin transforms into Johnny Cash, both on stage and off. Most remarkably, he performs all of Cash’s music and feels completely natural doing it. When alongside a similarly outstanding Reese Witherspoon as June Carter, it’s easy to completely buy into all the film’s rich detail. While it smooths over some of the more complicated aspects of the man behind the music, Joaquin is still able to channel the spirit of Cash in every single scene of what becomes a wholly captivating performance.
6. Beau is Afraid (2023)
A cinematic journey of discomfort where Joaquin’s titular Beau tries to go home to say farewell one last time to his recently deceased mother, it spends a whole lot of time simultaneously dicking around and diving headfirst into increasingly bleak waters that could easily drown those who come in unprepared. There is so much that has been written already about what is an intentionally alienating work from writer-director Ari Aster, his third feature film after Hereditary and Midsommar, and many understandably despise it. Still, it is hard to think of a recent work that fully commits to the bit like this does. Joaquin is no stranger to playing pitiful characters, but never has he played one whose petrified stares can strike such a chord all the way until his last one. No matter how uncomfortable it makes you or how many darkly absurd swerves it all ends up taking, you find yourself along for the dreadful ride.
5. The Immigrant (2013)
While James Gray has made many great works over his career, The Immigrant may be his very best. Set in 1921, it accompanies Marion Cotillard’s Ewa Cybulska as she arrives at Ellis Island after fleeing Poland. She is immediately separated from her sister, who is quarantined due to her lung disease, and will then spend the rest of the film trying to get her out so they can begin a life together. She places her trust in Joaquin’s Bruno who first deceives her with promises of help before using her to make money via prostitution. As Ewa tries to navigate this harsh world where she is almost entirely on her own, this gorgeous-looking film begins to cut deeper and deeper into what this country is really like for those not already on the top rung. While this is another film where Joaquin plays a more villainous role, there is a complexity that both he and Gray bring to the character the longer you witness his attempts at salvation. There is no absolution for him or, on a broader level, all who have helped to build such an unjust world up brick by brick, though it begins to question how such foundations can be undone. When it all arrives at a stunning final shot, it reveals itself to be as well-constructed visually as it is thematically revelatory.
4. Her (2013)
Wait, isn’t this movie where the guy falls in love with his phone? Yes, sure, but it is much more than that. Set in Los Angeles sometime in the future, it is science fiction that is interested in the emotional repercussions of technology meant to bring us together that actually may have closed us off even further. Discovering this for himself is Joaquin’s Theodore Twombly, a cartoonish name if there ever was one, who works as a letter writer for people he has never actually known. He is divorced guy incarnate though he has yet to sign the papers making this official as he is still unwilling to let go of that part of his life. When he downloads an operating system that comes with an artificially intelligent virtual assistant named Samantha, voiced by Scarlett Johansson, he finds himself growing closer and closer to her. This sounds like it could be a disaster in the wrong hands, but writer-director Spike Jonze strikes a balance tonally with a film that isn’t afraid to poke fun at itself. We observe Theodore growing while also repeating many of the same mistakes from his past, and the film becomes a reflection on love and connection that isn’t afraid to take an extra leap.
3. C’mon C’mon (2021)
This one is more lowkey than many of Joaquin’s films, but that doesn’t make it any less sublime. In many ways, a description of its plot could sound like any family drama you’ve seen a thousand times. However, its presentation and pacing make it something more poetic that sneaks up on you before bowling you over. Shot in black-and-white, it follows Joaquin as a radio journalist named Johnny who is asked to look after his nephew Jesse (Woody Norman) who he hasn’t seen in quite some time. The reason for this arrangement is that Johnny’s sister Viv, played by the always great Gaby Hoffmann, has to care for her estranged husband who is struggling with bipolar disorder. What starts as only a couple of days becomes more as Johnny then takes Jesse on a work trip across the country as he speaks to a variety of young people about their future. Each location they visit feels alive in a way that is a rarity for cinema as it moves beyond just capturing B-roll footage of the landmarks we all know to place us in the corners of the world that otherwise go overlooked. In this same vein, the relationship between Johnny and Jesse becomes something quietly profound. There is a playful tone to it all, with many sidesplitting bits sprinkled throughout, while also being poignant. Nothing is ever wasted, making the seemingly mundane into something magnificent.
2. The Master (2012)
What brings our lives meaning and what is that we will do to get it? Will we give ourselves over to charlatans and con artists? These are the fundamental questions at the heart of Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, which explores the way lost people can become taken in by those offering answers where there may be none. In this case, it is Joaquin’s alcoholic World War II Navy veteran Freddie Quell, who gets swept up in the charisma and charm of one Lancaster Dodd. Played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his finest performances in a career full of them, he takes Freddie under his wing as part of the cultish Cause. Once he has him in his tight embrace, there may be no getting free. From the scenes where he breaks Freddie down to the ones where he draws him back in, the film is a powerful portrait of two men who are more similar than either may realise and doubles as an encapsulation of what happens when we find ourselves adrift in a world with nothing stable in sight to tether to. When everything is laid bare, it brings to life our lost selves and what we will do to find something to fill the void that expands before all of us.
1. You Were Never Really Here (2017)
Whenever acclaimed filmmaker Lynne Ramsay presents us with a new cinematic vision, you know it has the potential to be something truly special. You Were Never Really Here is a take on a classic story of a hitman who gets caught up in a dark conspiracy; a typically riveting experience from Ramsay as it peels back the layers of the man on the cusp of his own demise. As the broken and bearded Joe, Joaquin is as tragically transcendent as the filmmaking itself. The more we sit with him, the more we become completely enraptured by his grappling with his humanity and the sorrow that threatens to swallow him whole. As Joe leans over the precipice of the abyss opening before him, something which happens literally in one of the most striking scenes that makes excellent use of shadows and an eclectic score by Jonny Greenwood, it all cuts right through to your very soul before subsequently ripping it free. While much of the gruesome violence is obscured, Ramsay stages a delicate confrontation with life’s brutality and beauty in the film’s final scene, making for one last moment of splendour.