Review: Joaquin Phoenix stems from the ambivalence of Gus Van Sant in Do not worry, he will not be far off on foot

• Do not worry, he will not be far off on foot [19659004] Written and Directed by: Gus Van Sant
• Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill and Rooney Mara
• Clbadification: 14A; 113 minutes
• Opens July 20 in Toronto

It is cheap to start a revision with a rhetorical question, but a lot of Do not worry, it will not feel very much at home. So: Is there a leader today producing a better job than Joaquin Phoenix? Through his stellar work with Paul Thomas Anderson ( The Master Vice Inherent ), Spike Jonze ( His ), James Gray ( The Immigrant ]] Two Lovers We Own the Night ) and Lynne Ramsay ( You've never been there really ), Phoenix enjoys one of the streaks The most intimidating of recent years

The actor – never a mere chameleon, but someone who disappears into a role entirely with a scary conviction – continues to display a new and huge scope here with his latest drama, a biopic of paraplegic cartoonist John Callahan. And his decision to rework with his director To Die For Gus Van Sant, must have seemed wise on paper. Yet throughout Do not Worry Phoenix is ​​responsible for imposing all of the production, with Van Sant constructing an aggressively conventional character study that attempts to constrain and diminish Phoenix's efforts to every turn.

Sant amuses a little of the story that jumps in time, but otherwise, it is shocking to notice the little interest that he seems to have for his subject. At least, the director helps his star by completing the cast with artists who do their best to compete with Phoenix's dedication, including a wonderful Jonah Hill as a skeptical AA sponsor of Callahan and Rooney Mara in love of the cartoon . The story continues below the advertisement