Thomson on Phoenix in the Guardian

Last night we finished watching Tropic Thunder, which was too brilliant for comment. Made me think of Ben Stiller’s Oscar beard, and then I saw Thomson praise Phoenix’s “awesomely nasty Commodus in Gladiator, one of the best villains of modern times – creepy, depraved, lethal and smart with it; his Jimmy Emmett in To Die For, the over-medicated, under-motivated high school kid who becomes Nicole Kidman’s thug and bedmate of choice – very little of that great role is in the script, so much comes from Phoenix’s presence; and don’t forget his Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. For that, he watched Reese Witherspoon collect an Oscar for being lovable as Cash’s wife – she had the grace to say that Phoenix’s example had made the film possible.”