Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Rating: 9/10 (24 January 2020)

"You wouldn't get it," has been the most important and iconic line from this year's most controversial film. Critics from around the world became scared with the release of Joker. They thought the film would inspire people to commit violent crimes. With Joker, director Todd Phillips takes a dark turn from his previous movies, such as The Hangover, and creates a gloomy cynical masterpiece exposing issues deeply rooted into the framework of society. Joker is the origin story of Batman's arch nemesis The Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, also known as Joker. The film starts by giving the viewer a glimpse into the life of Arthur Fleck, a lower class, mentally ill, middle aged man who has a job as a clown to care for his mother, and also works on standup comedy in his free time. In the opening Arthur attends a therapy session with a government worker who prescribes him medicine for his mental illness. After the government cuts the funding for this program, Arthur is lost in a city that has forgotten him. From here, he begins to discover the dark flaws of society and his own past, all while he slips into insanity. Everything collapses when he is invited onto the Murray Franklin Show, Gotham City's premiere late night show, and surprises everyone.
The plot of this film is what made the film so controversial, but the main idea is to point out problems in society. Critics around the world were worried that this film would inspire people to commit senseless violence. People thought this film was unnecessarily dark and twisted just for the sake of evil. While the plot was extremely wicked, it only adds to the anarchy in which the Joker stands for. Joker carries on the tradition of Jack Nicholson's, and Heath Ledger's Joker, by having the Joker symbolize chaos and anarchy. The only difference is in this film chaos and anarchy are used to show how elitists create societal rules that leave the lower class forgotten. Joker's madness creates a domino effect that starts an uprising against the other class, showing how villians can be created if society leaves them behind. With heavy inspiration from Martin Scorsese films such as The King of Comedy and Taxi Driver, Joker exposes a mental health crisis in the world today and how important it is to tend to this issue. Ultimately Phillips creates a dark storyline, not just for the sake of evil, but to point out flaws in society and what those unresolved problems could mean.
Joaquin Phoenix's performance as Joker stands out immediately as immaculate. Phoenix is able to portray exactly who Arthur is intended to be through his slight facial expressions and movements. The film is relatively quiet without many lines by any character, but this does not diminish Phoenix's acting ability. Phoenix's is able to capture Arthur's slide into insanity through his dancing in the film. Arthur is often pictured dancing maniacally throughout the film, and Phoenix's slender build and slithering movements create a dark sense of fulfilment for the character. When Arthur does speak, Phoenix masterfully makes the audience uneasy with sinister smiles and a light voice. The way that Phoenix delivers lines such as "I always thought my life was a tragedy. But I now know its a comedy." makes hairs stand on end. Phoenix fortunately overshadows mediocre performances by Robert DeNiro and Zazie Beetz who play important supporting roles in the film. With Phoenix's soft delivery, sinister movements, and dark laugh, he is able to portray Arthur's descent into madness, and transition into joker, magnificently.
Finally the music in this film, while unconventional, amplified each and every scene of this film. There are two specific scenes in which the music drives the meaning. The first is when Joker is going down the stairs, dancing to the song "Rock and Roll Part II" by Gary Glitter. This scene symbolizes Arthur's complete transition into Joker. The upbeat song and dance moves signify how Arthur feels free for once and is no longer living in a tragedy. The choice of song brings an element of excitement to the viewer, as this song is usually used in sports arenas to hype up a crowd. Phillips wants the audience to share Joker's excitement. The second one is the final scene in the movie. It is a recreation of the first scene where Arthur is talking to his therapist. He tells his therapist "You wouldn't get it." after laughing at a joke he is thinking about. "That's Life" by Frank Sinatra starts playing and Arthur sings and dances to it. The song illustrates Arthur's lack of remorse for what he's done, because he simply believes that's how his life goes. This song is also from the time period in which the movie is set, adding to the realism of the setting.
In my eyes Joker is a work of art that will go unappreciated. Because of its dark message people will forever find the film disturbing, but it highlights real issues through a compelling plot, incredible acting, and unconventional choice in music. Joker has deservingly received nominations for multiple awards for the amazing cinematography. More importantly, Joker sends a message and makes the audience question society. So to the people that view Joker as a film created simply for the sake of darkness and violence, "You wouldn't get it." ***(Frank Sinatra's That's Life starts playing)