MovieChat Forums > The Yards (2000) Discussion > Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Phoenix

posted 21 years ago by Sky_Serendipity
21 replies | jump to latest

Hey, doesn't anyone here thinks that Joaquin was very sweet in the movie? :) Except me, of course..?Ha, just kidding, but i think he added some flavour to the movie. I am interested to see if anyone else remarked his performance. What is your favourite scene with him from the movie? My personal one is after he kills Erica and then he gets into his car...the light turns off and you can see a tear coming down facing his lips...I thought that was so incredible. I really think Willie loved Erica, but she could not face up with what he really was doing..Can't actually blame her, she's got a good point, but she should have seen that the guy really cared about her. Him crying was one of the proofs that he cared about Erica.

[–] I_Brake_For_Jedi 20 years ago

Joaquin is my favorite actor. I've seen just about all of his films. So I can say that he is ALWAYS puts forth an excellent performance. This film is no exception. There is one scene after he kills Erica where he has this horribly sad look in his eye. But in an INSTANT, it goes to a look of anger. You can't even SEE the transition unless you're looking very hard.

[–] mmaapp 20 years ago

Excellent, as usual. I saw this for Phoenix, because it is a pleasure to see him act. I didn't care for the movie, but his performance made it worth it.

[–] bhaktigirl 20 years ago

Gangster/crime movies aren't usually my cup o'tea, but I did like this one, and only saw it initially because I will see ANYTHING Joaquin does! He is just so beyond brilliant, it's almost scary. :) And yeah, that scene after he's just killed his ex-girlfriend and he sits in the car, and the indoor light goes off and you just see his right eye and cheek, and then the big tear wells up in his eye and rolls down his cheek....Just incredible! It's one of my favorite Joaquin moments, amoung many. The director even said in the commentary how amazed he was that Joaquin could cry on cue!

[–] JustaSideOrderOfLove 20 years ago

Yeah...i really thought that he was EXCELLENT in this film! it really DRAGGED in the middle...:-( but he was the only reason i stayed in to watch it!:-D
he's my FAV ACTOR! and he's sooooo FINE! not to bad on the EYES!!
if u guys like him...go to the Joaquin Phoenix main baord...;-) we are all real nutters there..;-) the best board on IMDB!;-)

Abbe du Coulmier:I'm not a beautiful young prospect ripe for corruption.

[–] wolfwoman357 20 years ago

Okay, since I think everyone agrees that the best part was after he killed Erica and you could see him crying (don't get me wrong, I love that part!) does anybody else think that his fight with her right BEFORE he killed her was great. I mean, that was a very emotional scene for me. I could really feel for Willie, because it was like after all that terrible stuff he did that Erica was the only good thing he had left, and here she was rejecting him. And after he killed her, and he saw her corpse lying on the floor, it was like his entire world had been destroyed and he just didn't care anymore what happened to him. So when he was in the car, and the cop came by and arrested him, he didn't fight back because he had nothing left, absolutely nothing to fight FOR.

"Life is like a brandnew vacuum cleaner. Sure, it sucks, but it has so many intersting parts to it"

[–] vanillainflux 20 years ago

yea i agree, those two scenes u just mentioned (the fight scene where they actually really did in reality "fight" and after he kills erica)
the movie actually made it bearable to watch because of him, because otherwise, it was just a bunch of people who mumbled under their breaths. brilliant actor, he just...aces every role he takes.

it's a dirty world Reich, say what you want

[–] British--Babe 20 years ago

I said it about charlize's sence but its the same for joaquin. where he kills her his performance was superb! he's such a talented bloke as was his brother RIP River

"I'm not from these parts. From a little place called England-we used to run the world before you."

[–] artistathome 17 years ago

By the way---her death is an accident. he did not kill her. She jumped away from him and went overthe railing... Yes, they were fighting. But he did nto want her to die!

Nina

[–] MariaLoathesDTWig 17 years ago

I've watched the movie again the other day and HE DID PUSH HER.It wasn't an accident.He didn't want to do so but right on the moment he was clearly angry with her and so he pushed her.Plus,he tried to grab her face to kiss her and she pushed him away.Erica didn't jump.Willy pushed her.

[–] Moseng 19 years ago

My personal favourite is when he's just found out that Leo and Erica were caught together when they were 15. The look on his face as jealousy slowly begins to eat at him.. So dark, so intense. So good.

When he visits Erica at Leo's place and he finds Erica and Leo together again (since Leo is supposed to be out of town).. I love how the jealousy grows, and the way he tells her to shut up. It's just so freakin' good!

[–] bemorecynical2001 19 years ago

Moseng----One of my favorite Joaquin monents in the film is when Frank tells him about Erica and Leo. He does this look, and this barely there grimace that works great. I also noticed the look right before the fight, he looks at them with such contempt. And of course both fight scenes looked so real. It was the right choice to have them really fight, and he and Charlize looked real too. It didn't look fancy and movie appropriate but just like a real fight for your life struggle.

The tear thing was good, but I prefer after that, when the police come and he slowly silently raises his hands and crumbles-- he does that really well.

I wasn't crazy about the movie, but as always Joaquin gave an incredibly watchable performance.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] Moseng 18 years ago

Well the anger and the jealousy I can understand - he was just told that his best friend through many years and his girlfriend whom he intends to marry were caught together at fifteen. That's not good news to anyone.

The fightscene was great, it looked so real. It seem like it really hurt, too, sometimes! It that's not great acting, I don't know what is

[–] Amry0217 18 years ago

Once again, I was not disappointed with his performance. He didn't seem to be acting but actually living the part. Every movie I've seen (so far) with him in it is somehow made better.

BTW Willie's best friend not only was caught with his girlfriend, but they were cousins, Leo and Erika.

[–] onesexyveggie 17 years ago

Erika wasn't really caught with Leo, Frank just said that to get Willie to do whatever he wanted him to do. Frank needed to get rid of Leo because he thought it was Leo that was making everything fall around him, but it wasn't. btw, joaquin was EXCELLENT in this movie, but he usually always is anyway!!

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] Greyshaded 13 years ago

Joaquin was good in the movie...My favorite scene was when he and Leo got into a fight and why I thought he couldnt throw a punch or be aggressive was beyond me. I also think he did like Erica BUT just got carried away with making money, worrying about Leo falling for Erica when Leos mind was somewhere else i.e his mother and clearing his name.

I liked the movie very much

[–] irishaspaddyspig 13 years ago

James Gray said in the commentary that Joaquin and Mark had elbow and knee pads on and were told to go at it. No rehearsal. No choreography. Just two guys fighting........badly and believably.

"a malcontent who knows how to spell"

[–] Greyshaded 13 years ago

It was excellent thats for sure