In On The 'Joker'

Rating: 9/10 (23 October 2019)

Most movies that generate controversy come and go with little fanfare. Usually because they are not particularly good and therefore are tossed into the news cycle and disappeared abruptly and usually deservedly. There was that Seth Rogen movie about assassinating the Chinese dictator (never saw it), the 'Human Centipede' franchise that attempts to offend everybody (never will see it), and who can forget the conservative gasp over the American flag raising being left out of 'First Man' (saw it..meh). The problem with 'Joker' is it is good.
No, it's great. And unless you are prepared to deal with the guilt, misplaced or otherwise, over your enjoyment of it, then you should skip it because Phoenix will seduced you with his performance. Is it wrong given the times we live in? Oh, yes. That's what makes it so amazing. It is impossible to dismiss the fact that this is simply a shockingly brilliant performance. And director Todd Philips offers up nothing to reassure the audience that this is "just a movie". There is no gimmick or troupe, "super" or otherwise, to remind us that this is a comic book universe. There is no room for Affleck's 'Batman' in this Gotham. It is deliberately as unpreposterous a world that appears to be, tragically, not much removed from our own. There are flaws to the film to be sure (DeNiro is distractingly miscast, and 'Thomas Wayne' is unsympathetically Trumpesque) and there is an argument to be made that we have seen this indepth character study in madness done before (check out Harry Treadaway in 'Mr. Mercedes'). None of that matters. Rest assured 'Joker' won't take home any Oscars. It's too sinister for the times we find ourselves in. As for Phoenix, his performance demands a whole new category that surpasses "best actor". But it will have to do.