Joker Gets 5 Stars

Rating: 5/10 (18 October 2019)

Why? I know that's the real question here: Why give Joker only five stars when the majority have rated Joker an 8? Well, I'll write why. As a huge Joker fan, I was quite blown away by this movie but that's because I did not know what I was expecting to see. Many fans were irked to hear that someone would dare suggest an origin story for The Joker. The Joker himself has always preferred his existence to be multiple choice. However, Jack Napier did have an origin story and he became The Joker.
So what's my problem with this movie specifically? The acting, don't get me wrong, is impressive and mesmerizing and Joaquin Phoenix deserves an Oscar for his stellar performance. Knowing The Oscars though, I doubt he will win one. Heath Ledger had to die in order for him to receive his and fans still argue that Heath Ledger IS The Joker. Me, I agree to a certain extent. Heath's portrayal was of a more laid back Joker in my opinion. But to me, The Joker has always been a man who is well-dressed and just loves to laugh. Arthur Fleck, however is not well-dressed and the only reason he laughs is because he has a condition that forces him to burst out giggles at some of the most inopportune moments. It's a medical condition he has and he even carries a card to explain why he's laughing. And, yes, it's a real condition: pseudobulbar affect is what it is called. Of course, that means that the uncontrollable laughter could also be uncontrollable crying which the movie doesn't explore, but at least the film did some research.
But besides the film's research on Arthur's condition. it might have been nice if the research had gone further in depth. I'm not arguing that I wanted Batman to grace the screen. However, that would have been nice. Maybe not sparkly Edward, but still nice. What we did get however was a very elaborate story of how Arthur Fleck could have become The Joker. But to me, Arthur was never going to be The Joker but he may have been the inspiration for the real Clown Prince of Crime. Why do I write this? I write this because Arthur Fleck is too weak to grace the famous purple suit The Joker is notorious of wearing.
I know the cast and crew are quite satisfied with the film they made and good on them, but this movie was A) too dark and B) did not portray The Joker in a positive light. It was as if we fueled Walter White the idea of Heisenberg and he just collapsed from sudden shock.
Bad reference? Well, let's end with this then: I did not want The Joker to be seen in a positive light nor a negative light. I wanted to feel sorry for him and understand WHY he did what he did to become who he is now known as. What I got from Arthur was that he was a tragic hero from start to finish and he may have been inside Arkham Asylum the whole time.
With Writes,
-Andy Ruffett