The Worst Part of Having a Mental Illness is People Expect You to Behave as if You Don't

Rating: 9/10 (4 October 2019)

Joaquin Phoenix is Arthur Fleck, the man who would be Joker. The entire movie is a character study on this man, with little themes interlaced such as mental illness and the divide between the wealthy and the poor. Unlike other attempts at the Joker's origin, this one did not take one bad day, but years and years of relentless abuse, trauma, and depression. We watch Arthur as he goes from one miserable day to the next, as everything gets worse and worse, and then he gets kicked while he's down for good measure (sometimes literally). This makes it a long, miserable, and uncomfortable viewing experience. The character we all know as Joker is barely present until the film's third act. Until then it's just Arthur Fleck and his descent into madness in a cruel and uncaring world.
Joaquin Phoenix deserves every drop of praise he's getting. Every little bit of it. He's dream casting for a role like this, as it feels like Joker was written for him and only him. He's always been fantastic with tormented characters, those who skirt the borders of insanity. And not just movie insanity, but actual insanity. The darkness one's mind goes to when all hope is lost and happiness is an unknowable entity, when waking up every morning feels like stepping into a cold void, where you're trapped in your own head, you can't tell what's real and what's delusion. Phoenix taps into those feelings like a walk in the park. He slips into the role so well you have to keep slapping yourself to remind you you're empathising with a sociopath. His take will divide audiences. Some will find him hilarious, like a dark mirror of Charlie Chaplin, while others will watch him with intense sadness.
Nothing encapsulates this better than his laughs. Yes, laughs, plural. Phoenix is not happy with just one iconic laugh. Instead he gives Joker a number of distinct laughs, and each of them are just as unnerving and characterful as the others. His fake laugh is the closest to a typical Joker laugh we get. He uses it at odd, inappropriate moments, or as an attempt to fit in with those around him. The way he cuts from a serious expression to manic laughter, and then back to a serious expression is equal parts hilarious and disturbing. He's lonely and detached from society. He doesn't know what makes a good joke. He doesn't find humour in the same things everyone else does, so in an effort to appear normal he puts on a fake laugh; over-the-top and terrible. His other laugh is an involuntary tick due to a mental condition, either from illness or injury. It's loud and hearty. And yet also grossly inappropriate. This time it isn't Arthur trying to fit in, it's a reflex he can't help, and usually comes out in moments of great stress or sadness. These moments are uncomfortable to watch because you can feel his desperation to make them stop. These are tragic, painful laughs masking tears.
The other star of the movie is Hildur Guðnadóttir's haunting and upsetting score. It's a stripped-down orchestral score, centred on a handful of cellos. It evokes the tragic nature of Arthur's life, while also remaining dark and tense, putting you at constant unease. It uses silence and atmospheric lulls brilliantly, allowing the rest of the film to breathe before the overpowering single Cello line bursts back in. Even in Joker's final triumphant moment at the end of the film, the score still feels overpoweringly dark and brooding. This is no hero we're witnessing, this is a villain of pure evil and insanity.
Joker is not your average comic book movie. Go in expecting a typical superhero origin and you'll be disappointed. There's no antagonist, no brazen action sequences. It's slow and methodical, the violence is sudden and disturbing, but used incredibly sparingly. Also for a film entitled 'Joker' it's not particularly funny either. It has its moments of genuine humour for sure, but usually the level of comedy is so dark you'd feel bad for laughing at it. There was a guy in my screening who, much like Arthur, was laughing at the most inappropriate moments and literally applauding the violence. It was like Arthur was in the cinema with me watching his own movie. It was unnerving, but mostly I couldn't understand how he didn't see the irony in it. You'll either find this movie a darkly hilarious comedy, or find the experience closer to a deeply upsetting traumatic event. We may never see another film like this, but it may also open the eyes and minds of major studios to what they can achieve with comic book material. An R-rated villain origin, in the style of a gritty indie drama, focussing on the depravity of mental illness. I give Joker a potentially industry-changing 9/10.