If I had to put money on it, I’d guess that you have already heard quite a bit about the new movie, Joker. Whether it be the large amount of critical praise the film is receiving or the larger amount of criticism it has gotten for being perceived as too dark or promoting negative behavior, Joker was in the news months before it was actually released.
While Joker is being hailed as a brilliant piece of art by both select fans and critics alike, it has also received an abundance of criticism for both its subject matter as well as its theme development. People have critiqued the movie for promoting gun violence, or acting as some sort of encouragement for those that feel socially persecuted to resort to violence in order to feel seen and heard. But is the movie as socially irresponsible as some critics are claiming? Or is it actually a masterpiece like some fans are saying? To me, the answer to both questions is no. However, that being said, the movie is both very unnerving and very good.
I have seen more than any reasonable human being’s fair share of movies, and it is rare that one actually leaves me feeling bothered. In fact, I can’t even remember a horror movie that left me feeling quite the way that Joker did. The only other movie I can actually remember making me feel the way that I did walking out of the theater last Sunday was Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. And this is absolutely no coincidence. In the broadest of descriptions Taxi Driver is a character study that follows a mentally ill man, played by Robert De Niro, as he turns to violence in an effort to combat some of his personal trials, as well as some of the larger societal issues of 1970’s New York City.
Joker director Todd Philips has unabashedly claimed that his movie takes heavy inspiration from Scorsese movies like Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, and this shines through in his movie quite a bit. Perhaps even a bit too much sometimes. The movie from time to time goes a little bit overboard trying to pay homage to Taxi Driver, as it’s set in a similar setting and time period, and even has Robert De Niro in its cast. And although Taxi Driver is indisputably a much better movie, this actually works to the movie’s advantage in creating a rather disturbing and certainly troubled central character.
Joker centers around Arthur Fleck, portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, and his slow descent into violence and madness as the titular comic-book villain.
First and foremost, it has to be said that Phoenix gives an outstanding performance as the principal character. People have already begun comparing him to Heath Ledger’s (Jared Leto who?) iconic, Oscar winning performance as The Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight. Although I still definitely prefer Ledger’s performance, I don’t think the comparison is at all unearned. Phoenix’s portrayal of the Joker has cemented him as a Best Actor frontrunner. Phoenix plays Arthur with an excellent balance between being sympathetic and absolutely menacing. The movie is only assisted by some of the situations we see of Arthur’s life, where we as an audience truly feel bad for him. So much of the brutality and misfortune he receives is not at all his fault. He’s regularly subjected to different sad situations and varying degrees of abuse. Arthur suffers from some very serious mental illnesses, and has little to no control over many components of his life.
However, what makes the film truly work, is that at the end of the day, Arthur is not completely innocent of his actions. He is indisputably still a bad person that makes some very wrong, and immoral choices, regardless of his circumstances, and I think the film does a good job at portraying this.
In fact, when it comes to the claims of social irresponsibility, or a movie that promotes anarchy or violence, I would use this portrayal as the primary defense. Everything that Arthur does is shown through a subtle, but not too subtle, depiction that his ideas and actions are absolutely wrong and certainly not to be reproduced. That idea is made plenty clear, and is definitely obvious enough for an adult audience to understand. And remember: this movie is for an adult audience. The film, unlike most other comic-book movies today, is R rated, and undoubtedly earns its rating.
As an original comic-book, the movie also strikes a nice balance between having the types of easter eggs and references that moviegoers like myself crave, and being able to stand by itself as an enjoyable film for everyone. I was happy to tell one of my friends that you really don’t need to have seen any of the Batman movies, or to even know who The Joker is, to follow and enjoy the movie. However, if you’re a geek like me, there’s certainly some stuff in here that you’ll pick up on, which in my case, gave me goosebumps.
The only things in this movie that don’t work, are less objective flaws, and more comes down to your subjective film taste. This film is unarguably both violent and off putting, in a pretty realistic manner. In fact this realism was the primary component that left me feeling bothered after my first viewing. Within a few moments out of the theater I texted my parents saying that this movie was definitely not for them. Even for my more cinephile, nerdy friends, I felt obligated to tell them that while the movie is very good, it’s “a lot.” So if you don’t want to see a dark movie, with realistic depictions of evil, depressing views on mental illness, and shocking scenes of violence (which is very understandable), avoid it like the plague.
However if you can bear this type of cinematic experience, I’d really recommend it. Headlined by a stellar lead performance by Joaquin Phoenix, and aided by clever twists, a strong supporting cast, dark themes, good production design, and a fantastic third act, Joker is one of the best movies of the year, even if it’s not everyone’s taste. •
