Joker

It’s always refreshing when something as subjective as a comic book story is taken in a different direction that doesn’t just present it as explosive blockbuster junk-food. Taking the light and adventurous tales of DC comics and warping them into a darker, more twisted and realistic angle was taken advantage of by themselves years ago when they steered away from the traditional heroism of their silver years and tackled more touchy topics that helped provide them with their synonymous edge. Arguably their most famous character, Batman, has been a key player in that transition, with various outings from the goofy campy Adam West show, to the chillingly realistic and genre-changing, The Dark Knight, it’s clearly made some skeptical people have more faith in the brand and see it as more than just a one-note phase. So, it’s only fitting that Batman’s most infamous and controversially loved villain, the Joker, is also home to an equally controversial and shocking film of his own, one that did a lot more than just turn a few heads. In a stand-alone version of Gotham, Arthur Fleck (played by Joaquin Phoenix) is a mentally ill socially distant man who is constantly trying and frequently failing to make a living as a stand-up comedian, being inspired by his idol, the famous stand-up Murray Franklin (played by Robert De Niro). After recently being fired from his job as a clown and being forced to look after his feeble mentally sick mother, Penny Fleck, (played by Frances Conroy), Arthur’s attitude and sanity slowly starts to spiral down, leading to more heavily destructive tendencies, both physically and mentally, which come to a head when he murders two wealthy businessmen on a subway train after suffering harassment from them. With the media covering this as a ”tragic injustice” and with Arthur learning that his past may tie him to the wealthy, Thomas Wayne (played by Brett Cullen), every step he takes along this lonely and dangerous path all builds up to his full transformation into the iconic prince of clowns as he prepares to make his most extravagant entrance yet on Murray’s talk-show. Receiving extremely high critical appraisal in only a short amount of time, as well as securing a few Academy Awards including Best Musical Score and Best Actor, Joker wowed audiences almost immediately with its realistic, gritty and new portrayal of a beloved DC villain. The film has this uncomfortable atmosphere that blends with the realistic tone very nicely, leading to a gripping movie with stellar acting, beautiful cinematography, great music, and a nice twist on the villain we all know and love.

The movie is heavily based and inspired by films created by acclaimed director, Martin Scorsese, mainly Taxi Driver and especially, The King of Comedy, where a mentally ill man pines for the attention of his stand-up comedian idol to impress a girl. While the similarities can seem a bit too close in parts and the Scorsese-ism can feel apparent even behind the camera (with one of the film’s producers, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, working on Scorsese films like The Wolf of Wall Street, Silence and The Irishman), it thankfully never stretches too far into rip-off territory and actually takes advantage of its premise and even what character its based on to have fun exploring. Despite presenting clear Batman characters, this isn’t based on any Batman comic or even exists within an established universe, rather using the framework of pre-established characters and roles to create a story that is heavily message-driven and even pretty political, which is honesty a much better angle to take. It takes the story of a comic book villain and warps it into a dark look at a disgruntled man struggling with mental illness in a poor rotten neighborhood and a society that is more willing to throw him under the bus forgotten against the higher-ups of society who are unblemished. Joker has had iterations where sympathy was shown to him and the tragedy of his mental deconstruction is highlighted, but this takes it to the next level, grounding him so much in brutal reality that the audience really feels the sickening negativity of the environment, situation and the character. The whole movie exudes this awkward nerve-racking tone that constantly wears at anyone’s positivity and dulls it down just like it does to the titular character. The film’s directing by Todd Phillips (who beforehand was mostly known for vulgar, wild and raunchy adult comedies like Road Trip, Old School, Starsky & Hutch and The Hangover franchise) really manages to make every scene, despite how minimal it is, flow with such ease and expertise that it keeps the audience hooked throughout its two hour running time. While that is all great, a problem does come in what is actually being presented. Despite how well the story is being delivered to the audience, it’s not exactly the most engaging material written by Phillip’s and fellow screenwriter, Scott Silver. The narrative is more of a character-study and an exploration of a message than something that has a three-act structure, so it feels very loose, allowing for moments to feel like appropriate build-up to something new, but not content that is overstepping the boundaries or even really doing anything that different for its comic-book roots outside of its presentation and tone. There are also some story elements that get too complicated too quickly, are hard to process, could have been cut all together (most of the Wayne elements in this film could’ve been removed and not a lot would’ve been lost outside of the commentary), and play up the ”unreliable narrator” quality of the story in a way that isn’t fun or even that engaging, but rather just infuriatingly confusing. With that said, it does build to a memorable climax and while its message can be a little heavy-handed and overstated at times, it is an important message (especially at the time of the film’s release).

While the movie is literally named after the clown prince himself, this Joker isn’t the typical portrayal of the character in the usually sense. Arthur Fleck as a role works very well in the movie; he’s not the most interesting character or even that new when it comes to versions of the Joker, but the fact that he’s just a regular guy who breaks mentally due to society works perfectly. Taking the nihilistic attitude and want for violence and chaos that the Joker strives for and placing it into the mind of simple downtrodden and hapless man who gets sucked into a societal revolution of rich versus poor makes it so much easier and far more tragic to see the descent and slip into madness. It separates him from other versions of the character; ranging from ones that feel in control of their insanity and lead their own plans and ideas in spreading chaos and jovial madness, and those that feign an element of normalcy, but really have none of it and only have crazed ideas that wish to disrupt the system, with this one sitting in a pretty interesting middle ground. Joaquin Phoenix is appropriately chilling as the Joker, able to separate himself from other famous performances of the character, but still feel recognizable to the character through his mannerisms, attitude and overall presence. Since the Joker as a character is such a blank canvas, it means that the possibilities can be whatever the actor brings to the role, as long as they capture the spirit and attitude down, and Phoenix knows that when portraying this role in a sense that is slightly more sympathetic, but never to the point of distracting away from the monstrous things he’s done. It can get a little pretentious at times with some of the artsy things he adds to the character (the dancing is weird and pointless), but he has so many great scenes that it honesty can be ignored. The supporting cast is also really good, with people like Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Leigh Gill and Robert De Niro feeling  authentic and portrayed in a more grounded sense that allows the more messed-up moments to feel just that hint more disturbing. With that said, since the movie is going for realism above anything else, there is a limit to how much intrigue can be put into these characters because of how much it can get away without going full comic-book heavy. It does mean that these interpretations aren’t the most intriguing or even the most useful, but they do work within the film enough (although De Niro is not a good stand-up comedian).

The movie also manages to make what is essentially a grimy run-down city still look beautifully cinematic. The film isn’t home to many nice colors, the production design by Mark Friedberg and set decoration by Kris Moran feels intentionally drab, and the color palette is very dull and washed-out (which will make Joker’s eventual extravagant attire created by costume designer Mark Bridges and popping make-up work by Nikki Ledermann and Kay Georgiou all the more for contrast against the duller environments, almost like adding color to a black-and-white movie), but the film captures beauty through excellent camera work by Lawrence Sher, with shots that can capture the cramped and the enormous environments flawlessly. When the areas are open and shown in long drawn out overview shots, they feel dream-like, hallucinatory, almost otherworldly in how much they show off the beauty of this run-down area, and when its small-scale; its claustrophobic, its sterile, it can be tilted or incredibly precise, it’s very much like being in a mental ward with some of the enclosed angles and searing lighting. The music is also appropriately chosen and orchestrated; with each matching a pretty accurate motif with what is visually being shown, nothing overly dramatic or symbolic, but the music choices as well as the handling of the audio, seems to flow perfectly with the visual storytelling that both seem to correlate very well together in making a moment uncomfortable or surreal. The actual score of the movie, done by Hildur Guðnadóttir, really excels at stringing together this tense uncomfortable piece that feels elegant but also unhinged (enough to secure her an Oscar).

Joker may be a psychological drama in DC clothing, but that doesn’t mean its bad for doing so, and although others versions within the Batman mythos are more entertaining and a better film in appealing to all demographics, this movie does go fully into the mind of a psychotic without holding much back. Its not a movie that is heavily re-playable or even one that many people will likely even WANT to return back to intentionally, but its strength lies in how well it can isolate people’s feelings and create a memorable picture to a character that many didn’t even want a movie about previously. Its one that is going to sit with you and takes a direction that in many ways feel appropriate for comics that tried to be about more than just thoughtless theatrics, with tackling harsher topics, more gruesome visuals and a more grounded storyline. The movie did need a better put together story with more intrigue to keep the audience fully engaged, as well as a few more memorable lines and characters to officially join the ranks of one of the best comic book movies of all time, but the results are still very impressive regardless. With enough fantastic acting and beautiful visuals to get people in the seats, Joker is definitely worth a watch. Check it out and see who gets the last laugh.