Joaquin Phoenix is F***ing With You

~
Joaquin Phoenix is laughing, and only he's in on the joke. Enigmatic, mysterious, misunderstood -- Joaquin doesn't care about what's expected of him, and he's led a unique career in Hollywood by following his own path. Before iconic roles in Gladiator, Joker and Her, Phoenix's unconventional upbringing in a controversial religious cult and the loss of his superstar brother River molded the type of artist he'd later become. After the spotlight and scrutiny of the media in his darkest years, Joaquin eventually clawed back at the press in his own way. And this is that story -- of how Joaquin Phoenix has been f***ing with all of us, all along.
~
Script and Edit: Daniel McMahon
Research and Story Producer: Adam Bright
Producer: Jaden Pendegrass
Sound Mixer: Dan Pugsley
Animations: Leon Fucak
~
0:00 - Who is Joaquin Phoenix?
1:00 - He's Filled With Danger
1:46 - Escaping the Children of God
2:56 - The Hollywood Dream
3:45 - An Abnormal Childhood
5:14 - Struggling Against the Dark Side
6:44 - The Character of Joaquin
7:32 - I'll Quit... Again
9:03 - Rising River Phoenix
10:24 - Halloween, 1993
11:53 - Let Me Grieve in Peace
12:41 - A New Joaquin
14:46 - He is Sky High
15:44 - Joaquin, You Suck!
16:14 - I'm Still Here
17:03 - Is Any of This Real?
17:54 - An Embarrassing Outtake
18:33 - It's The Misunderstanding
19:13 - The Moment is Valid
19:33 - The Family that Plays, Stays
20:12 - Ladies and Gents, Joaquin Phoenix
22:03 - In On The Joke
23:42 - December 2023
~

A 2023 Dodford Production.

[RealCarrera]

Dude you're hands down a storytelling beast. Making this entire piece flow together deserves an award. You've made it bro.

[timli]

my personal canon is that having the media swarm Joaquin's home after the death of his brother forged his unorthodox interview personality. He understands what the media and public wants from celebrities. People want to know everything from celebrities' lives to form a parasocial relationship, and he's basically teasing us for it.

[ash_tray_]

Holy shit. I was so immediately sucked into this as soon as it started. This is one of the best short commentary/short docs/films I’ve ever seen in this sphere. And you know what I noticed after it finished? There’s not even a narrator?! Like, the creators made this rich and beautiful story solely through the use of video and the voices of Joaquin, his family, the news, his movies, etc. and it painted such a strong and captivating narrative that it didn’t even need one. How insane is Dodford?!!! Truly, you are so talented.

[BenjiSelby]

I like how this edit reflects how Joaquin is a bit all over the place and an enigma. Though the story was a bit constant train of thought, it was slightly chaotic, but it works so well haha

[jackattackstopmotion]

The way you tell the story through his interviews instead of talking yourself is unbelievable incredible, you have basically created a different way to tell stories

[mtp]

As hard as he was trying to stay in character, Letterman got a smile out of him with the line “Joaquin I’m sorry you couldn’t be here tonight.” This guys a great actor. He stayed in character throughout that whole period of this farce about him becoming a rapper. Which lasted about a year. How’s that for creating a character and committing to it?

[reubengv_]

I love how you let the footage and interviews speak for itself, really unique style of storytelling yet so intriguing

[ThinkerYT]

Nah this is getting out of hand. This is so good. Like its incredible.

[sentientbeans]

Never knew how much of his life really matched up with the Joker and how he’s made to play that role. Indeed what an enigma of a person. It does make you think about the price that an actor has to pay in order to bring forth themselves truthfully. Joaquin has so much power in his acting because his shadow is just barely restrained, and like the actor, it’s AUTHENTIC. Really admire his resolve to stay true to himself especially in the day and age where everyone commoditize their identity in order to be liked ala the Kardashians. Breath of fresh air really.

[AJDraws]

Imagine how hard it would be on a set with Joaquin and Jim Carrey

[Hoonter]

You are easily the most talented YouTube creator that I'm aware of. The editing is graded A. Jeep doing what you're doing

[latrellpetite]

The fact that Dodford didnt use Joaquins audio for the 911 call is so honorable.

[ninskdesign]

The selection of clips, the building narrative, the editing… just brilliant! So sweet to linger on the clip of him and River when they were kids too and emphasize how much he appreciates his family. So well done!

[NicholasCasey]

This edit was beautiful. Told the story without telling any story really. The parallels between who he is and who he plays in films is wild. He is right when he said he isn’t an actor. There are only a few method actors alive still who are at his caliber, he isn’t playing these characters, he is literally becoming them. It’s an entirely different thing than acting in a commercial or play

[allthingsminifig]

Your videos are absolutely incredible. The way that you basically make mini documentaries by only using footage that you've found with no narration is amazing. Keep it up man, because this type of content is what Youtube needs.

[SteveDCM]

You know it’s a good day when Dodford does

[jasonkoss]

it’s wild how talk shows are literally the only way he’s interfaced with the public outside of films

[jamiehammond]

You can see losing his brother affected him deeply.💔

[alexbota]

At first I checked your videos out of curiosity and even though they're pretty long I couldn't stop myself from watching. The way you present your videos and the quality of your information makes it so entertaining yet very educational. And that "sponsor break" was the most subtle that I have ever seen. I didn't expect to enjoy a sponsor break, I usually skip them right away. But this time it was entertaining. I really like your work and I can't wait to see more. Keep up the good work, you do it so well!

[Ty.Stax]

I’ve never really cared to learn about any celebrity in a deep way since I’ve never wanted to engage in a parasocial relationship knowingly or not. That being said this video literally had me upset when it ended, I can’t put to words rn how interested I was while watching all the way through.
Definitely got a sub