Joker Movie Review

“When you bring me out, can you introduce me as Joker?” - Arthur Fleck a.k.a. Joker

Joker is a new film directed by Todd Phillips, and stars Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a man who doesn’t remember ever having a happy day in his life.  He has mental illnesses that make his life very difficult.  He doesn’t have any real friends.  He has an awful job.  People are always making fun of him and beating him up in the streets.  His mother is sick.  And now, the office belonging to the psychiatrist that he sees is closing down, meaning he has nobody to talk to about his problems, and no way of getting his medications.  As time goes on, we see him slowly begin to lose his mind, and become the villain that everyone knows and loves: the Joker.  

  I went into my local theater’s midnight premiere of Joker feeling very excited about the fact that I was about to finally see a film that tackled the Joker’s origin story in full detail, and I walked out feeling more than satisfied with what I got.  I also walked out feeling disturbed, gross, and depressed, but I didn’t feel cheated at all.  I went in wanting to see a film that left no stone unturned when it came to how Arthur Fleck becomes the Joker, and the movie gave me that.  Not only does the movie follow Fleck the whole way through the film, but I can’t think of any scenes that he wasn’t in the movie.  The film is entirely devoted to his character, and I really loved that.  

Let’s talk about the acting in this film.  Joaquin Phoenix is magnificent as Arthur Fleck.  His performance is half of what makes this movie not only great, but also realistic, and unnerving.  He totally sells every movement, and every line of dialogue, to the point where I forgot he was even acting.  Phoenix is incredibly convincing, and I will be genuinely surprised if he doesn’t get nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars this year.  The rest of the cast is also terrific; Robert DeNiro shines especially bright, and shows that he can still give a great performance even if he is 76 years old.

This film is impossible to look away from.  This is partly due to the electrifying performances, but it also has a lot to do with the camerawork and the set pieces.  The cinematography is beautiful, and there were many shots that gave me chills.  Even the opening credits and the title card are visually enthralling! 

 There are some scenes that are truly shocking and disturbing, and I don’t think that they would be nearly as effective if they weren’t filmed the way they were.  The way the camera decides to show you things is very matter-of-fact.  It shows things the way they are.  For example, if something violent happens on screen, the camera doesn’t jolt with each shot of a gun or stab of a knife.  It stays calm, still and neutral, and therefore it makes every act of violence all the more chilling.  

The locations are grimy and dirty, which perfectly parallels a lot of the characters.  Every filthy alleyway, every nasty sidewalk is just as dirty and messy as the character’s morals.  Each piece of trash or marking of graffiti could just as easily be a flaw in a character.  I thought this was brilliant.  

The music in Joker is amazing, and perfectly captures the era in which the film is set.  The usage of old songs really adds to the atmosphere and heightens the emotion of each scene, and the score is very rich, and works to the same effect.  I also liked how there were scenes involving characters singing to themselves, or dancing.  There was an element of music in Joker that interestingly added to the dark tones of the film, and I really loved that.  

My favorite thing about this film is that it doesn’t feel like a comic book movie.  This is not an action-filled romp involving superheroes.  It is instead an uncompromisingly dark character drama that isn’t afraid to take things slow and steady.  There have been comic book films before that didn’t feel like comic book films to me.  For example, Road To Perdition, Ghost World, and A History Of Violence to name a few.  But Joker is the ultimate example of that in my opinion.  

If you showed this movie to somebody who had never heard of Batman or the Joker, they wouldn’t think that it was part of a massive franchise.  This movie stands on its own, and doesn’t need any fancy references to make the point it wants to make.  That being said, there are little nods here and there to the Wayne family, and familiar locations in Gotham City such as Arkham Asylum.  But the film doesn’t focus on those things.  As I said before, if you knew nothing about the DC universe, it wouldn’t affect your viewing experience at all.   

There is only one tiny issue I have with the film.  There is a story arc involving Arthur and one of the minor characters.  I won’t spoil anything, but there is a reveal in this story arc that I thought was explained just a tiny bit too much.  I wish the script would have left this a little more ambiguous.  

Overall, I adored Joker, and consider it to be one of the best films of the year.  It’s an incredibly bleak and depressing film, and it can be very hard to watch at times, however, I really want to see it again before it leaves my theater.  The more I think about it, the more I love it, and I think Joker is a film that will stick with me for a long time.

Rating: R

Grade: A