JokerA garden of weeds chokes out anything that isn't mean enough to survive. Joker is a psychological thriller and origin story of one of Batman's most recognizable villains, the eponymous Joker, a.k.a. Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix). Arthur is a mentally ill man who struggles with bouts of uncontrollable laughter at inappropriate times, and works as a clown on the streets of Gotham City to support his infirm mother, Penny (Frances Conroy). But Gotham City is a hard and cruel city, one that has no sympathy for a fragile man like Arthur and his sensitivities. And one bad night aboard the subway becomes the catalyst to transform this sad man into a scion of chaos.
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Joker wears its inspiration on its sleeve, with notable and numerous references to Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy and Taxi Driver. Arthur is a socially awkward loner who dreams of making it big as a stand-up comedian. He watches late night talk show host Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro) on television with his mother, and envisions himself in the audience. More than that, he fantasizes that he will be singled out from among the audience and that Murray will give him love and recognition, as well as his "big break" in comedy. (This is fundamentally the same premise as The King of Comedy, and in something of a role reversal, it was De Niro who portrayed protagonist, Rupert Pupkin, in that film.) Like Pupkin, Arthur seems to have chosen stand-up comedy arbitrarily, born from an off-hand comment he recalls his mother making--that he was meant to spread joy and laughter to the world. But when Arthur goes on stage, he falls into a fit of nervous laughter, and the jokes he pulls from his crumpled notebook have more sorrow to them than humor. And Murray isn't beneath exploiting this uncomfortable display at Arthur's expense for easy laughs on his show, humiliating Arthur on national television. (Similarly, this move is reminiscent of David Letterman's routines with Harvey Pekar, dramatized in the film, American Splendor.) This becomes one of the many fractures in Arthur's collapsing sanity, fueling an inner rage and psychosis. Another comes in the form of Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen), an arrogant and unsympathetic industrialist and politician who seizes on hot-button issues like shootings and public unrest to fuel his own political agenda. (The more things change...) There is a pervading animosity toward Thomas Wayne, not just for the callous jerk that he is, but for what he represents in Joker. In a turn of phrase just a step removed from "a basket of deplorables", Thomas describes the citizens of Gotham who justify violence against its citizens as being "clowns", and persists in patronizing his audience by claiming that only he can "help them" become better people. But this statement only fans the flames of anger in Gotham's marginalized citizens, boiling over into protests and riots, turning into clashes between police and furious citizens in clown masks. Arthur understandably rankles at Thomas' transparent politicking, but is secretly proud that something he did--even inadvertently--had some influence on the world around him. But he is also pained by his mother's obsession over Thomas Wayne, for whom she used to work many years before she became an invalid. Arthur always checks his mail on her behalf for a letter she believes that her former boss will send her, which never seems to come. Yet little by little, Arthur pieces together a bigger connection between himself and Thomas Wayne, one that fuels an obsession with yet another high-profile figure, in turn emulating De Niro's Travis Bickle of Taxi Driver.
Director Todd Phillips has indicated that one of his missions with Joker was to portray Arthur's world from the perspective of an "unreliable narrator". This comes across in myriad ways; Arthur's fantasies are often preceded by the change in the register of background music, and the citizens of Gotham City are almost always depicted as hateful, cruel, and/or angry. Yet Arthur's neighbor is a single mother named Sophie Dumond (Zazie Beetz), who he first meets her in an elevator and engages him in friendly small talk. The awkward Arthur tries to reciprocate, yet his efforts come across as decidedly creepy. But Arthur continues to fixate on her, and she starts to represent an emotional pillar of support for him in his most trying moments, like with Cybill Shepherd's Betsy in Taxi Driver. Joker is the first R-rated, live-action "Batman" movie, with a harsher, more cynical approach than its predecessors; but is this the "real" Gotham City, or just Arthur's perception of it? Arthur is a victim of varying kinds of abuse that has affected how he sees the world around him. Could it be that he sees all of the world as full of people who just want to hurt him? How much of Arthur's perspective is delusional? Some? All? This question lingers even after the end of the film, and similarly recalls the ambiguous ending of Taxi Driver. Characters that have heretofore been portrayed as kindly or benevolent in the Batman mythos are presented as mean and unfeeling--even the stalwart Wayne family butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Douglas Hodge), becomes a smirking bully when Arthur comes calling. In a crucial and terrible scene, Arthur states that his life hasn't been a "tragedy" but a "comedy", that his life has been singularly without mirth or happiness. Yet the audience has witnessed moments where, despite the demons that haunt him, Arthur has enjoyed genuine warmth and laughter, like when watches Charlie Chaplin perform in Modern Times. At the height of the "clown protests" sweeping Gotham City, Arthur accepts Murray's invitation to appear on his show, but does so while in his iconic persona as "Joker". Despite his proclamations that his appearance is not "political", he ultimately launches into a sensational and provocative rant, a bit reminiscent of Chaplin's closing speech in The Great Dictator. And when his appearance is over, the camera zooms out from one television screen to show many others, all reporting on the Joker. A star is born amid the feeding frenzy in yet another nod to a cynical cinematic classic about media run amok, Network. This Joker becomes a socio-political manifestation of the insanity that overtakes a society that allows media personalities to influence their way of thinking--a cautionary tale against following the pied piper of sensationalism off of the cliff of reason.
Recommended for: Fans of a raw and daring depiction of an iconic character from the pages of "Batman", as well as a study of contemporary social issues and unchecked mental illness. Joker is a disturbing drama with challenging themes, and is best suited for its intended audience of adults, instead of younger audiences accustomed to traditional superhero movie fare. Because of the predominance of references to many classic psychological thrillers and dark comedies, it could be said that Joker is a superhero movie for "film buffs".
Director Todd Phillips has indicated that one of his missions with Joker was to portray Arthur's world from the perspective of an "unreliable narrator". This comes across in myriad ways; Arthur's fantasies are often preceded by the change in the register of background music, and the citizens of Gotham City are almost always depicted as hateful, cruel, and/or angry. Yet Arthur's neighbor is a single mother named Sophie Dumond (Zazie Beetz), who he first meets her in an elevator and engages him in friendly small talk. The awkward Arthur tries to reciprocate, yet his efforts come across as decidedly creepy. But Arthur continues to fixate on her, and she starts to represent an emotional pillar of support for him in his most trying moments, like with Cybill Shepherd's Betsy in Taxi Driver. Joker is the first R-rated, live-action "Batman" movie, with a harsher, more cynical approach than its predecessors; but is this the "real" Gotham City, or just Arthur's perception of it? Arthur is a victim of varying kinds of abuse that has affected how he sees the world around him. Could it be that he sees all of the world as full of people who just want to hurt him? How much of Arthur's perspective is delusional? Some? All? This question lingers even after the end of the film, and similarly recalls the ambiguous ending of Taxi Driver. Characters that have heretofore been portrayed as kindly or benevolent in the Batman mythos are presented as mean and unfeeling--even the stalwart Wayne family butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Douglas Hodge), becomes a smirking bully when Arthur comes calling. In a crucial and terrible scene, Arthur states that his life hasn't been a "tragedy" but a "comedy", that his life has been singularly without mirth or happiness. Yet the audience has witnessed moments where, despite the demons that haunt him, Arthur has enjoyed genuine warmth and laughter, like when watches Charlie Chaplin perform in Modern Times. At the height of the "clown protests" sweeping Gotham City, Arthur accepts Murray's invitation to appear on his show, but does so while in his iconic persona as "Joker". Despite his proclamations that his appearance is not "political", he ultimately launches into a sensational and provocative rant, a bit reminiscent of Chaplin's closing speech in The Great Dictator. And when his appearance is over, the camera zooms out from one television screen to show many others, all reporting on the Joker. A star is born amid the feeding frenzy in yet another nod to a cynical cinematic classic about media run amok, Network. This Joker becomes a socio-political manifestation of the insanity that overtakes a society that allows media personalities to influence their way of thinking--a cautionary tale against following the pied piper of sensationalism off of the cliff of reason.
Recommended for: Fans of a raw and daring depiction of an iconic character from the pages of "Batman", as well as a study of contemporary social issues and unchecked mental illness. Joker is a disturbing drama with challenging themes, and is best suited for its intended audience of adults, instead of younger audiences accustomed to traditional superhero movie fare. Because of the predominance of references to many classic psychological thrillers and dark comedies, it could be said that Joker is a superhero movie for "film buffs".