Phoenix is Amazing, Film is Great

Rating: 8/10 (22 November 2019)

Joker is a film that's garnered quite the reputation. It's quite different from any other film based on a comic. There's nothing comic-y about it. There are no superheroes, nothing mystical, and no comic book style humor. It's dark, gritty, and grounded in reality. Rather than be about the Joker as the villain we know, it's about Arthur Fleck's descent into madness, and his transformation from a down on his luck guy with an unspecified mental illness into the Joker. He goes through his mental health struggles, which mostly entails uncontrollable laughter and accompanying stigma, difficulties maintaining a job, caring for his ailing and unstable mother, a personal identity crisis, a health care system that can no longer support him, and his complicated relationship with his celebrity idol, talk show host Murray Franklin.
It's often compared to two notable Martin Scorsese films; Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. Much like Taxi Driver, it's a film where it's difficult to dissociate between what's literally happening and what's a product of Fleck's imagination. There are some things that are definitely real and some things that definitely aren't, but a lot of scenes, particularly the ones with Sophie. Also like Taxi Driver is the depiction of the city; bleak, run-down, and dark. The entirety of Gotham seems grimy and worn, making the idea of a city in shambles quite visible. Even Wayne Manor looks darker than it does in most Batman movies. The best scene in the movie is easily the scene where Joker goes on the Murray Franklin show. You know what's going to happen, and the tension built as a result is incredibly well done.
Joaquin Phoenix's performance was perfect. He perfectly nails every aspect of this character. From the compulsive laughter to the awkward mannerisms, he gives a very unsettling performance, perfectly befitting his character. It's kind of pointless to compare him to Heath Ledger, as Ledger is Joker the anarchist while Phoenix is Joker the madman, but they're definitely on par with each other. Phoenix's performance is easily the most memorable and defining feature of this movie. Robert De Niro plays Murray, a comedian who Fleck looks up to before being mocked by him. He's very good in the role, and of course, brings in the King of Comedy allusions. Zazie Beets was also good as Sophie, managing to play in scenes that are literally happening and scenes that aren't.
The other aspect, and the most controversial by far, is the perceived social commentary issue. This movie has led to a lot of social and political controversy for various reasons. Politically speaking, Joker himself says in the movie that he isn't a political person, and that none of what he does is political. Despite that, his actions are taken by the characters in the movie as revolutionary, and he is seen as such. Honestly, this movie wasn't nearly as violent as I expected it to be. It is definitely R-rated violence levels, but I guess all the hoo-ha surrounding it made expectations higher in that regard. The John Wick movies are drastically more violent than this. Something worth noting is that the movie does vilify the media. After Joker kills Murray, it immediately cuts to the news coverage of it, and throughout the movie we see that media coverage is the difference between Joker the revolutionary and Joker the guy who killed three people on the subway.
One concern I had going into this movie was if it would be in any way stigmatizing to people with mental illnesses. Fortunately, it was not. The reason for this is because it is never stated that Arthur Fleck has any particular mental illness, only that he has one.
The film also is intended as a standalone, unlike most comic book movies these days. Despite this, it does give a possible sequel hook, and how he could be the Joker that we know, and also hinting at the origins of Batman. However, it was pointless to include Bruce Wayne, because he would need to grow up another 10-15 years to become Batman. But that doesn't really matter too much. Joker, standing alone, is an excellent film and a new page in the story of comic book movies. Whether it gets a sequel or not, there's no doubt this film will be talked about for a long, long time.