THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
On paper it almost sounded impossible to do a film solely about Batman's greatest foe, the Joker, but Director Todd Phillips did the impossible and blew our minds in 2019.
PLOT
This story has almost zero connection to what the years of comics have presented and gives us a brand new Joker. It follows working clown Arthur Fleck who's aspiring to be a comedian, but suffers from uncontrollable laughter. He takes care of his ill mother Penny who used to be a maid for billionaire Thomas Wayne, currently running for mayor in Gotham City. He buys a gun from his co-worker Randall (Glenn Fleshler) for protection, but is fired when bringing it to a children's hospital. Later that night, he is harassed by three men on a subway and when they assault him, he shoots in self defense. Coming home that same night, he pursues a relationship with his neighbor Sophie. The day Thomas condemns the murders of the men that worked for his company Wayne Enterprises, on television during his campaign, there are protestors that don clown masks, reflecting Arthur. Arthur finds letters that indicate that Thomas Wayne might be his father. Penny says it's true but when pursuing Wayne himself, he denies it. Not only does he deny the affair but also reveals that Penny adopted him and that she was a patient in Arkham State Hospital. During this quest, she suffered a stroke after a visit from two police officers, questioning her son's whereabouts on the night of the subway murder. Arthur steals her file at Arkham State and discovers that not only was he really adopted, but she and a boyfriend at the time physically abused him as a child, causing his condition. He visits Sophie's apartment but when she kicks him out, he realizes that he's been fantasizing their relationship and every moment he's had with her is false. He is also invited as a guest of Live! With Murray Franklin when a video of his failed comedy routine at a comedy club was filmed, shown on the talk show, and was made fun of on live television. Before attending, he suffocates his mother at the hospital, kills his former coworker Randall (Glenn Fleshler) at his home with a pair of scissors for getting him fired, spares Gary (Leigh Gill) due to being the only one nice to him, and flees from the cops. When arriving at the studio, he requests to be called JOKER. During the interview, he admits his crimes, expresses his new hatred for Thomas and kills Murray Franklin on live television. His followers free him from arrest, crashing an ambulance car into the police car he was in. That same night, another protestor shoots down Thomas and Martha Wayne (Carrie Louise Putrello) in front of their son Bruce (Dante Periera-Olson). The film ends some time later, showing Arthur at Arkham State, laughing of a joke. His psychiatrist asks for him to tell it to her, but he says that she wouldn't get it.
THOUGHTS
After watching this film, I had to breathe heavily because that was an intense roller coaster provided by this film. Afterwards, I shouted “Oh my god” because I found it incredible that Phillips was able to send an important message through the use of a comic book character, yet is also a character study. Like Parasite, Joker sends the message about how the privileged are going to look the other way when society is right in front of them. I appreciate how Phillips expresses his inspiration of Martin Scorsese's movies rather than replicating other comic book movies. He first approached this movie as an introduction of another franchise known as DC BLACK, in which characters of DC Comics would have character studies like Joker. Due to this film being a billion dollar hit, I do hope that it becomes a reality. Although the director has a bigger message one would not expect for a movie like this, fans of DC Comics will be satisfied of the entire third act. Despite that most of the movie is distant from the comics, Joker's talk show appearance is a big reference to a similar scene in the comic and animated film The Dark Knight Returns. Seeing that Joker is somehow responsible for the death of the Waynes is an obvious reflection of 1989's Batman, but what fans get out of it is that the Joker created his own worst enemy and didn't even know it. If you never knew that knowledge prior, then you can argue that the only thing that makes it comical is the name JOKER. Besides the references of the comics, the scene in which the camera zooms out on the other television screens, reminded me a lot of the movie Network. Even though this movie is supposed to be about Joker, I'm surprised that there was an appearance of Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, played by Douglas Hodge. Alfred is present when Arthur is at the home of the Waynes and meets the young Bruce. The one thing that is easy to miss is the use of visual effects. That’s right, considering that the movie was shot in New York and Phillips wanted Gotham to have an 1980s vibe, CGI was used to add graffiti on the walls and swap modern buildings with the original buildings at the time of the 80s. When you discover that, I find it an incredible use of technology that wasn’t over the top. The score from Hildur Guõnadóttir is breathtaking as it creates the unsettling vibe that this movie expresses. This movie is phenomenal in its own way but there were some things that bothered me. The first would be that if Penny claimed that Thomas Wayne was Arthur’s dad, why would she keep it secret from her son? If that’s what she believes, she should’ve not kept it from him and Arthur’s search would’ve happened a long time ago. I also got to go back to the stolen sign scene. I know we want to see Arthur hit rock bottom to become Joker but he would’ve got less heat of the stolen sign if he reported it immediately. If he called his boss immediately, he would’ve believed him and kept his job longer. Another flaw goes to when Arthur meets the young Bruce Wayne. Because with Fleck’s assumption of being related to the Waynes, he doesn’t harm him but the boy should’ve shouted ‘stranger danger’ if someone making you smile with his own hands. Doesn’t matter what era it takes place in, no adult should make contact with kids like that. And again I know this movie is mostly distant from the comics, but I do not believe that Alfred Pennyworth, a former SAS agent would be easily choked out by the Joker. If I’m going to pick on anything from the Pogo’s scene, it’s that we didn’t spot anyone with a camcorder when Arthur walks to the stage. If we spotted that, it would’ve been good foreshadowing of Arthur’s humiliation. Also when Fleck stops in the stairwell after stealing Penny’s files, learning the truth of his adoption, he should’ve looked at them once he went back home. Because he would’ve got committed to Arkham State if he got spotted laughing in the stairwell. I know that this would build up the reveal for Sophie but this could’ve been done differently. During the subway shootout, he shoots the Wayne Industries employees that harass him, with 8 bullets. But the gun he carries is a .38 Special, that carries only 5 bullets. That is the biggest continuity error for me. And lastly, the only thing I can pick during the Talk Show scene is when Murray mocks Arthur’s joke book. I know Murray is hitting as much low blows as possible, which helps with the tension, but it’s a pointless insult because it’s common for comedians to carry joke books. If you can ignore all of that, this movie is still great for what it is. As I get back to the goods, the brightest spot goes to our leading man that is Joaquin Phoenix. He shocked the world with the performance of Arthur Fleck, basically the one man show of this movie, since his performance is truly what makes the movie worth the watch. Every laugh he has out loud, Phoenix is able to make them all look so real. It is not fair comparing this performance to Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight or any Joker before before him because they are completely different performances and Joaquin's Arthur Fleck is not exactly the ideal Joker people are gonna think about, but that doesn't take away the great performance. I do respect Frances Conroy also pulling a separate mentally ill character performance and Zazie Beetz’s dual performance of Sophie, the illusion of being a love interest that reveals to a neighbor that barely knows the lead, plus being terrified of his home invasion, but they are obviously overshadowed of what Phoenix brings to the screen. With that being said, I had nothing but tears of joy when the actor won his deserving Best Actor Oscar. Without exaggeration, I personally believe that this performance and the many roles before, make Joaquin Phoenix the greatest actor OF ALL TIME. It is pretty ironic how Robert DeNiro plays the talk show host, idol of an obsessed fan considering that he was the total opposite role in The King of Comedy. Going back to the talk show appearance, if you are looking for a scene that will give you an acting lesson, the exchange between Joker and Murray seals the deal. Last but not least, Brent Cullen as Thomas Wayne is arguably a reflection of Donald Trump, one who is disliked by many and looked at as one who doesn't care. And lastly, I find it ironic how Marc Maron has an appearance in the movie considering that he was vocal of not liking superhero movies. Overall, this is the kind of film meant for those who don't like comic book movies at all or are having fatigue with the constant trend of superheroes. Whether or not you feel this way of the genre, it is definitely a movie worth watching.
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
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