Joker

Joker pulls back the glossy curtain of superhero films and offers a new, anarchist approach to an iconic villain. The film itself is well worth seeing, but nothing will beat a packed theater in a city I have barely stepped foot in—with the crowd cackling along with the violence; I was shaking all the way through the end credits. This film is a must see within the theater, because there was a disturbing misconception that took over the crowd that must be understood before seeing this film.

Let me address the elephant in the room: will Joaquin Phoenix win an Oscar for his performance? No, because this is a superhero film. The Oscar committee believes it is above this genre—they even ignore many horror films, which also offer full-body performances from many of their actors (i.e. Toni Collette’s snub nomination for Hereditary). Joaquin Phoenix not only gives his sanity for this role, but he also starved himself to create a skeletal frame only built for a lost, broken soul. This rendition of Joker could not have been perfected by any other actor; the crumbling sanity chips away with each glare. His condition of spontaneous and uncontrolled laughter chokes his lungs and forces him into a hunched, coughing fit. The balance between representing a man who is mentally unstable and yet also a victim searching for a reason to live grants Joaquin Phoenix to really test out what he does best. The essence of this film is Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, and it understands how to develop the arc in order to provide the best experience for audiences to grow with such a mentally distorted character.

Surprisingly, even though this film shows the origin of a specific, well-loved character, it does not check off boxes for base level satisfaction. It knows what it must be, so it instead breaks everything we have come to expect. No flying, no super powers, no gadgets, no Batman, no pool of A.C.E. chemicals, and definitely no capes. This Gotham is a slimy, hate filled crevice of today’s world set in the 80s with no desire to cry out for help. Trash and rats have taken over the streets, and everyone is one slip up away from a murderous rampage. The film gives time to reveal this reality to the audience, and it does so by the corruption of its protagonist, Arthur Fleck. It builds obstacle after obstacle to continuously put Arthur down, and the little victories he wins end up being fantasies bursting from his mind. Each time a helpful hand reaches down to pull him to a sense of worth, it all ends up being too good to be true. Again and again it does this, and each time he finds out how wrong he was, we find out with him. The metamorphosis of Arthur into Joker is a simple strategy of filmmaking that works so well in this context, especially when the crew behind the camera knows where this story needs to go.

Now, witnessing the decomposing city through the eyes of a mentally ill stand-up comedian is a fantastic story, but nowhere in this film would I consider it funny… yet the entire theater around me was laughing. The only theory I have is that everyone expected it to be like an MCU film, where the action and character plot works along—and then a joke is injected here and there for a couple of laughs. It was not until a very horrific scene did the people around me realize they were not meant to find this character’s struggle amusing. Then it got even worse, because one man in the back row continued laughing through the entire film. His cackling surrounded the theater as if it was a sound from the film itself, mirroring Joker’s laugh like a psychotic ad campaign. It put me completely on edge; the hairs on the back of my head stood stiff until I left the theater. The hype and unease surrounding this film are part of its success, which is why I think it is so necessary to see it in theaters. Renting to watch it in your safe living room will never match the subconscious fear of whether the stranger beside you is waiting for the comic-references or for the violence. Again, this film is not meant to be funny, but that does not mean it is not worth witnessing. This atmosphere is unlike any other film I have seen.

Overall, Joker manages to meet the hype with its unrestricted dedication to a straightforward premise. Being rated R and set outside any cinematic universe allowed it to throw everything out the window, and it works. I highly recommend watching it in theaters, because the unpredictability of the crowd will always leave a lasting experience. Whether this film deserves to be remembered is still up for question, since it is a basic premise and a simple execution—but the hype and culture around this film are enough to make its mark against the cash-cow competition. Grab your clown mask, grab your buddies, and go see Joker.

Story Rating: 8/10

Character Rating: 8/10