A scary yet exhilerating decent into madness, beautifully portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix

Rating: 8/10 (6 October 2019)

This film is one of few films I was excited for heading into the fall season. At first this movie may seem like a typical "Mental Illness" movie, but it claims to be so much more than anticipated. Before this screening, I managed to hop into another movie on my list for fall, It Chapter Two. Both essentially about madmen, but Joker was far superior.
The film follows a man named Arthur Fleck (portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix) who works at a corporation that sends clowns to corporations in need (ie. Record Stores, Children's Hospitals, Television Screenings, etc.) He is brutally beat up by a group of teenagers and is at risk of being fired. His Homelife is not what you would call pleasant either. He still lives with his sick mother, Penny, who, due to being in her elder years, cannot do much without Arthurs help. One of his fellow co-workers Randall gives Arthur a gun for protection from ever being hurt again. That night, Arthur develops a slight obsession with a girl named Sophie, a single mother who lives down the hall.
While working at a children's hospital, Arthurs gun falls out of his pocket and thus making him fired from his work. That same night, a girl is being catcalled by a few men who work for Wayne Enterprises on a subway. Due to his mental illness, out of spite and fear, Arthur begins to laugh maniacally. One of the men sings "Send In The Clowns" and Arthur feels threatened and shoots all three of the men. Once finding a safe spot to himself, Arthur scarily dances and washes the blood off of his face.
Arthur fulfils his dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian and attempts to make the audience laugh with his brutally dark sense of humour. The audience does not make one sound. Later on, Penny seems awfully scared of something, revealing a letter to Arthur that he is Thomas Wayne's (Bruce Wayne's father) son. One night, arriving home, Penny suffers a stroke and is hospitalized, while Arthur is taken away from the scene to be interrogated by policemen, who ask him about the three men who were killed in the subway murders. While in the hospital, Arthur watches "The Murray Franklin Show", who shows a clip of Arthur doing his standup. However, it is only used to laugh at Arthur and not with Arthur.
A riot commences when Thomas claims that the population of Gotham is filled with clowns. Outraged, Arthur and the others fight back. Arthur sneaks into a movie theatre, disguised as an usher and finally meets Thomas, his biological father. Thomas claims all of this is false and that he is not the insane one, but Penny is. Arthur, outraged by his comment, storms out, but later learns that this is the truth and that Penny is mentally insane and that Arthur was adopted.
Outraged by the truth, Arthur storms into the hospital and strangles Penny with a pillow, killing her. That night, Arthur enters Sophie's apartment unannounced, but Sophie acknowledges and tells Arthur that his fantasies of going on dates and her coming to his stand up shows were all make believe and that they only met once in an elevator. Arthur returns to his apartment to receive a call from Murray Franklin's assistant, asking him to make an appearance on the show. He accepts.
Arthur gets ready for his big appearance on the show by dying his hair lime green and putting on some white makeup, creating the iconic Joker that we, the audience, know today. His old co-workers, Randall and Gary bring him a gift to show their gratitude for the passing of Arthurs Mother. Arthur remembers that Randall bullied Arthur in the past and murders him with a pair of scissors. He lets Gary go, for he never did anything to harm Arthur. He makes his way down to the show.
Before the curtain rises, Arthur personally asks Murray (Robert DeNiro) if he could be introduced as Joker, claiming it is part of his stand-up bit. While backstage, Arthur does a dance, ensuring that something eerie is yet to come. While on the show, Arthur realizes that Murray wronged him before, for poking fun at him from his standup bit. With his gun, he shoots Murray in the head and chest and then escapes the set. He is arrested by officers, but as they make their way back to the station, they are rammed by protestors in an ambulance. The protestors grab Arthur and place him on top of the car for recovery. The camera then flips to an alleyway, to once again recreate Thomas Wayne's and his wife's death, ironically not committed by Joker. Arthur wakes up and smiles at his state and looks around at the protestors burning the city in content. Joker is put into Arkham Asylum for questioning. He escapes, leaving bloody footprints behind.
Joker 2019 is one of those movies that you can only watch once. It is wholesome and somehow, someway, you feel a sense of sympathy of Arthur. However, once the movie hits its 2 hour mark, you are reeling to be taken away from this mans the story. The movie is divided into 2 acts. Arthur and Joker. Arthurs half is brutal, almost eye-gauging. Every moment you are not indulged into the story and quite frankly, it feels like time wasted. It is all made up in the 2nd half of the movie when the descent truly begins to show. You are clutching your seat, aching for more. It is perfect, but it isn't due to the first act. Joker is also one of those movies that you can only see once.
Overall, I'd give Joker an 8. (First act is a 5/10, Second is an 11/10. 8+11=16 divided by two is an 8)