Joker Review
- Half Glass Guy
- Oct 9, 2019
- 5 min read
Arthur Fleck: “What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash? You get what you f**kin' deserve!"
There is a big discussion to be made with this film. Not only did it raise issues amongst the public, but amongst the authorities as well. To an extremely tight degree, I can understand the concern, however, I also do not understand why it is considered a threat to the public. I will not spoil in this review just because I want people to be able to read this review and understand the frustration that came from this film. It is hard to talk around the climax of this narrative because it is the cause of the discussion and concern from the authorities. I am going to state this right now to get it off my chest, see this film if you get the chance and if you were remotely interested. It will make you wonder and question tons of societal ideas. Evening questioning your own moral ideologies. I enjoyed Joker (2019) because it made me think about ideas I don’t normally think about. It is a film that wants to make you uncomfortable and make you look at a person who gets beaten down so much that he goes completely insane. And I loved going through the experience of exploring this character from start to finish. It is not a typical comic book film, but it is with the DC label and certain elements sprinkled throughout the story.
Joker is about Arthur Fleck (aka Joaquin Phoenix), a sidewalk performing clown that ends up being beaten down from the public and rats amongst Gothem. A city filled with crime and hate where you can understand where his hatred begins to start. He slowly starts to go down a dark path because of the tragedies that end up coming his way. We, as an audience, start to make sense of why this individual goes down the path he does. In a way, we side with his decisions because he gets beaten down so much to the point there is no return to a regular thinking approach. He just does not care, and eventually this leads to a climax and ending I was extremely satisfied by. A film that takes risks and for the most part, sticks the landing for all of them.
For starters, and of course it is not a shocker, Phoenix is a f**king giant in Joker. He brings easily one of the better performances I have seen from him. He is in nearly every scene in the film, and he shows a range of emotions that is incredibly hard to portray. Arthur Fleck is such a complex character that only Phoenix knew how to show it. He lost 50 pounds for the role and it definitely adds to the meat of his performance. He comes off as a unsettling individual, but one who is not an asshole. He is shown as a person that has problems, but since he constantly gets put down and beaten up, to the point that every little element that contributes to his final stance on society. Phoenix captures something that is truly unique and can be rated as one of the best overall performances of the last 20 years. If not longer. He shines from the opening scene to the last. I cannot recommend or say enough about his performance that most have already been said. See Joker for this performance.
Another aspect I would like to cover is the score and camera work, along with its production design. These elements of the film added some great atmospheric feelings for the overall experience for the viewer. The score is haunting and grim, creating a sense of investment, but yet, discomfort all at once. And with the dark visuals through the cinematography, the productions and colorful lights add a sense of art in the images. It is so well directed that it guides the viewer along smoothly through a series of dark situations. And while the film can feel small because of its budget, I make the statement here that the film feels grand because of these elements I have stated. It creates a sense of a massive world that Arthur is among. And I loved those aspects, as a film lover, these elements made me appreciate Joker just from that side. It is easy to get lost in the fog of Phoenix’s performance, but here I am addressing that the filmmaking is strong and Todd Philips did something I never thought could happen, he directed a well-made drama.
Joker has a little bit of a mixed narrative from myself, but one that works and takes its own form, to make it different from the rest, even though it can be somewhat distracting. There is a strong connection between two films, The King of Comedy (1982) and Taxi Driver (1976), both films helmed by Martin Scorsese. Both of those films are combined into Joker, for its narrative at least. Both of those films deal with obsessive characters in the crime department, but both do not realize that it is really crime, or it isn’t really crime to themselves because of the discrimination they get from the people around them. Joker contains both of those narratives but has its own take on it. There is even a element of the film Network (1976). If one watches those films, they can get the influence it has on Joker. One could tell that Phillips was heavily influenced by that generation of filmmaking because of the ideas they explored. I almost want to state that he could potentially start a train that was shut down so long ago. He wanted to show audiences a film that is seen as controversial, but by today’s standards. But like I stated, this can be distracting because it is parts of narratives we have already seen before.
Going off of that note, I just want to say, once again, Joker is a piece of entertainment. It is not advocating anything. In fact, it’s a film that explores the depth of people who get put away to the point where one can sympathize with the character. It is bullying at its finest. It raises the statement that people should not be assholes to people. To be blunt about it. But we all live in a corrupt world it seems like to some degree. While in no way I am saying what this character does is good, but you can understand his motivation to do what he did. He got pushed over the edge to the point he didn’t care. And that is what I am trying to say. Yes, the climax could potentially spark something, but it won’t. It is a film. Audiences understand the distinction between reality and “movie reality.” The more that this issue raised, the more people were going to see it. Plus, critics thought the violence in this film was "over-the-top." When, to be quite frank, it is not nearly as bad as one might think. There has been WAY worse violent films to be released within the last five years compared to Joker.
I think Joker can be, in a way important, but I mainly stress that people should see it to see the progression to the point of insanity, but in an extremely realistic and understandable way. Phoenix and company have made a film that will be analyzed over the course of years because of the ambiguity it displays with this Joker interpretation. There is going to be many discussions about Joker and I appreciate that element of it. It is nothing one can’t handle, but it will be a challenging watch. I admired the challenging watches because we do not get those kinds of films today. Audiences should embrace this and I believe they already are. Joker does get the last laugh after all.
Rating: A-
Run Time: 2 Hours 4 Minutes
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