Joker (2019 film)
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 "How about another joke, Mur-ray? What do you get... when you cross... a mentally ill loner with a SOCIETY that ABANDONS HIM AND TREATS HIM LIKE TRASH?! I'll tell you what you get, YOU GET WHAT YOU F***ING DESERVE!!!"
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Joker is a 2019 American psychological crime thriller film directed and produced by Todd Phillips (who co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Silver). The film, which is based on DC comics characters, stars Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker and provides an alternative origin story for the character. Joker was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Films, and Joint Effort, in association with Bron Creative and Village Roadshow Pictures, and distributed by Warner Bros. Joker is intended to launch "DC Black", a series of DC-based standalone films and premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2019, where it won the Golden Lion, and was released in the United States on October 4, 2019. A sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, is set to be released on October 4, 2024.
Plot
In 1981, party clown and aspiring stand-up comedian Arthur Fleck (portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix) lives with his ailing mother Penny (portrayed by Frances Conroy) in Gotham City. Gotham is rife with crime and unemployment, leaving swathes of the population disenfranchised and impoverished. Arthur suffers from severe mental conditions as well as a disorder that causes him to laugh uncontrollably. Due to his various psychological disorders and introverted nature, Fleck is continuously bullied and beaten to the ground by society, causing his fragile mental stability to decline until he goes insane and becomes a serial killer named "The Joker", determined to make Gotham City laugh again in his own twisted and violent way.
Why Arthur Became Joker
- It's a great take on mental illness, bullying, and how it affects the victim in a suspenseful way in a psychological thriller.
- The film draws inspiration from classic films with similar themes such as the King of Comedy and Taxi Driver.
- Robert De Niro's casting as talk show host Murray Franklin is fitting, given his role in The King of Comedy and Phoenix's role as the Joker is almost a mirror reflection of De Niro's role as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver.
- Unlike other DC films that try too hard to be edgy, Joker manages to be dark and serious by doing it correctly and the dark tone of the film helps the narrative.
- Joaquin Phoenix does an amazing job playing the Joker; his performance is extremely flawless and beautiful. While Heath Ledger did a great job with the Joker in The Dark Knight, Phoenix's performance is as great as the former, if perhaps even better. Just like Ledger, he also earned an Academy Award for his performance and portrayal of the character.
- Arthur Fleck is a very compelling, tragic, and likable character, as he goes through a ton of difficult stuff in his life, like bullying. He also has a ton of character development, as he transforms into the Joker. His struggles also make the viewers want to be thrown into his world so that they can experience how he was treated badly.
- It also works with his mental illness, as it sometimes makes it harder for the viewer to know whether the events he's experiencing are real or not.
- The narrative also accurately portrays how his mental health progressively worsens through the film, as he stars in the film as a sympathetic tragic person who continuously becomes even more violent until he becomes a truly terrible person and a killer.
- While Arthur's conditions make him a sympathetic victim, his actions are still criminal and the film appropriately paints him as a villain.
- The famous scene where the Joker dances down West 167 Street's step stairs to the tune of "Rock and Roll Part 2" before he gets chased by the cops is amazing and made said stairs a touristic attraction shortly after its release.
- It spreads a strong message on hatred, unfair class systems, the dangers of long-term suppression of emotions, abuse towards the mentally ill, and many other issues with how Arthur is treated horribly by society, and his ever-degrading mental state. It also talks about how cruel people can be to others.
- Not only that but the scene where the Joker is on Murray Franklin's talk show and goes on a lengthy rant about how society abandoned him and treated him like trash before pulling out a gun and blowing a hole through Franklin's head is disturbing, yet exciting.
- While the violent moments are infrequent when they do happen, they're intense and disturbing enough to make the viewer feel discomfort with the psychological implications behind the extremely intense and bloody violence.
- At the end of the film, we get to see Bruce Wayne's parents getting gunned down by one of the Joker's fans, allowing us to see a glimpse of Bruce Wayne before he became Batman.
- Also, regarding the ending, the part where the Joker does a bloody smile is touching and beautiful, the crowd cheering in that scene makes it even more touching than ever.
- The film also has some funny moments without overshadowing the dark tone, such as when the Joker cracks an incredibly inappropriate joke on Murray Franklin's talk show about a woman's son being run over and killed by a drunk driver.
- Even though the film is supposed to be dark, there are some heartwarming moments, like when Arthur cheers up the kid on the bus.
- It uses the old Warner Bros. ("Big W") logo from the 1980s at the beginning, fitting with the period the film is set in.
- It's a very different take on a comic-based film, presenting it less as an action blockbuster and more as a character study, and it's refreshing to see how it worked well.
- Todd Phillips, the director of this film, captures the charm of his films, but instead of comedy, it's a crime drama thriller.
- The cinematography is perfect to the point where it ended up being nominated at the 92nd Academy Awards for best cinematography.
Reception
Critical and audience response
While Joker polarized critics, it received widespread acclaim from audiences. Although Phoenix's performance, direction, editing, musical score, and cinematography were heavily praised, the dark tone, portrayal of mental illnesses, and graphic violence divided opinions and generated concerns of inspiring real-world violence; the movie theater where the 2012 Aurora, Colorado mass shooting occurred during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises refused to show it out of respect for the victims.
Chris Stuckmann gave the film an "A-" rating. Jeremy Jahns gave it an "Awesometcular" rating and was featured in the Best Movies of 2019.
Box office
Joker became a major box office success and set records for an October release. It was the first ever R-rated film to gross more than $1 billion worldwide and became the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2019 (managing to outgross Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker by over $105,000). It is also the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.
Awards and nominations
Joker has been nominated for, and won, multiple awards, including the Golden Lion at the 76th Venice International Film Festival. It was also nominated for Best Cinematography at the Academy Awards, which it lost to 1917, though it did end up winning Best Actor in a Leading Role for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Original Score.
Trivia
- Martin Scorsese was originally about to produce the film, but backed out as that.
- This was the first film to debut the new Village Roadshow Pictures logo, although the logo is still at the end.
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