If I wasn’t so verbose, I could sum ‘Joker’ up in one word: “Wow!”. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the release of this film involving the disturbing themes and imagery. People have tried to censor this film based on it’s close relation to the 'Dark Knight’ and the Aurora Colorado shootings. Still others find it toxic to seemingly glorify a psychopathic violent loner. And still others have focused their “wokeness” and “recreational outrage” to the latest flavor of a cancel target. I tend to lean to absolutism when it comes to film and art where I believe the artist should be free to express their vision. With all that being said, I completely understand the controversy and I’m surprised finding myself not disagreeing with the points the film’s critics are making. That is not to say that I didn’t find this a superb piece of film making and a darkly beautifully filmed character study. This is a film that takes chances in response to a world that snobbishly turns their collective noses up at “comic book” films. My reverent hope is the 'Joker' will be rewarded during Oscar season.
First and foremost, for those who do not care for the super hero genre, this is not the type of film you are used to disliking. If I had to label this film, it would be a noir character study akin to ‘Taxi Driver’. It is a film that examines the descent of a sociopath, but does not glorify it despite what the critics have been saying. Even though the majority of Americans know who the Joker is in the Batman world, this film is not connected to the current inter-connected DC film universe. This is a stand alone film. In fact, DC has slowly been giving up trying to copy Marvel’s one universe success and going more for these type of stand alone films. If this is the result, then I say continue in this direction, because I have nothing but respect for this film.
Joker first appeared in Batman #1 in 1940. Since then, there have been many origin stories and interpretations. Film and TV wise, it is subjectively debatable which version is best, but I will say Heath Ledger’s version is probably the most respected give his Oscar awarded performance. I found Joaquin Phoenix’s performance every bit as respectable yet entirely original and his own. It has washed out the bad tasted of Jared Leto’s performance in ‘Suicide Squad’ and given me new confidence that DC can find their own audience with a unique vision apart from Marvel’s.
The story itself doesn’t sound that intriguing. Arthur Fleck is a mentally ill struggling comedian and clown who lives with his mother. He is trying to keep it all together and the fact that he has Pseudobulbar Affect (a condition that causes uncontrollable laughing/crying) only heightens his isolation from his fellow man. Life is not kind to Arthur and one event after another spirals Arthur downward. He has two rays of light in his life. His single mother neighbor, Sophie, shows him kindness which he hopes will turn into a relationship. The second is during one of the nights he bombed at an open-mic comedy club, he caught the attention of one of his comedy idols, Murray Franklin. Robert DeNiro captures the essence of a Johnny Carson style talk show host. Not evil, but definitely a smarmy Hollywood type who is attracted to Arthur strictly in order to make fun of him on national TV.
My admiration of this film is not in the story which we’ve seen shades of before as in the aforementioned ‘Taxi driver’ or ‘King of Comedy’ (ironically, both starring Robert DeNiro). My respect comes from the sheer beauty of the film making. Where most films in the comic book genre tend to be a roller coaster of action, this film takes its’ time. Lingering camera shots as we feel Arthur’s descent into madness. We feel his pain as life batters him and while I may not sympathize with him, I definitely understand his descent. As Arthur slowly becomes more violent, the film’s violence isn’t gratuitous or cartoonish. It is visceral and disturbing. Not necessarily gory, but having a certain veritas and gravitas that we are numb to in over the top action films.
The film’s music score adds to the intensity so I recommend seeing this in the theater with a good sound system where you actually can feel the intensity it instills. The music that Director Todd Phillips chooses are ones that I never would have associated with a film of this type, but they fit perfectly to his vision. The scene where Arthur Fleck emerges for the first time in his Joker persona in its’ entirety is set to Gary Glitters ‘Rock & Roll: Part 2” and is both viscerally exciting and disturbing given the lightness of the song overlapping Fleck’s madness.
There are many unexpected directions this film takes as well as a few easter eggs for we comic nerds, overall this film defies easy classification. It’s too easy to say it’s just a character study as Phillips ability to take such a dark and unredeemable subject matter and give it the artistic beauty of superior film making causes many conflicting emotions. In the end, I believe art is all about emotionally moving someone and ‘Joker’ does that, even if it isn’t in a direction one would want to go. Much, much respect for this achievement.
I give this film **** out of five stars
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