I guess lightning does sometimes strikes twice

Rating: 9/10 (25 January 2020)

I didn't read comics as a kid, but like a lot of other people I loved the Dark Knight trilogy. Heath Ledger's take on the villain Joker was brilliant, blending his charisma, youthful good looks, and a shocking intensity to bring the villain to life in a stunningly original and powerful way. I'm a fan of Jack Nicholson and enjoyed his performance, but Ledger's performance blew me away. After that I would never have guessed that someone could find another take on the character that would leave me in awe the same way, but Joaquin Phoenix found a take that is both completely original and every bit as breathtaking.
While Ledger's Joker was a larger than life bad guy, Phoenix goes in the complete opposite direction. Experiencing his Joker is a terrifying decent into madness and complete disassociation from reality that leaves you shaken. Instead of youth and charm, Phoenix exudes the pitiable sadness and desperation of a middle-aged man who, in his own words "(hasn't) been happy one minute of (his) entire life." He's just a guy that life has handed one bad turn after another, who starts the film with an air of desperation and sadness suggesting he has tried to be the person society said he should be his whole life and can't quite understand why it never worked. Then, as the film progresses, you feel this awareness waking in him that the reason is because the system is rigged and unfair, until finally the idea grows in him that he can choose to reject the norms and morality of society altogether.
What's frightening is that the movie makes this process relatable. Most of us have never and will never murder anyone, of course. But with good acting and directing, instead of simply being a shocking moment of violence his motivations burrow under your skin a bit because they feel organic, and your mind can imagine briefly what it would be like to fall into that darkness. The movie supports the Joker's transformation, not just with his misfortunes and mental issues, but with pointed social commentary that draws from some real places. Desperation and hopelessness are catalysts for social upheaval and the Joker becomes a kind of living manifestation of that truth, as he points out when telling one of his "jokes":
"What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that treats him like trash? You get what you (expletive) deserve."
At this point I feel like I should acknowledge a controversy surrounding the film, which is that some reviewers felt that the depiction of Joker's rage would resonate dangerously with others, especially those who had shared certain demographic similarities with the character. I won't go too much into this beyond mentioning that it strikes me as eerily similar to conversations I've seen in media before that concerned the profiling of another source of violence that involved a different mixture of race and religion. This idea of "us" and "them" is deeply ingrained in the human mind, but I think the utility of its application to social problems has been at best limited. Reasoning from the actions of individuals to the behavior of large groups rarely if ever produces useful results, in my experience.
Beyond the performance of the main character, the film has many other powerful elements that keep the story fresh and relevant. For starters, the movie tacitly acknowledges that even people who engage in monstrous acts may not be entirely without justification. This is very different, and I want to be absolutely clear about this, it is very different from suggesting that their violence is justified. It is not and the movie never even hints that it is, but what it does point out is that our society has social issues that are marginalizing and disenfranchising people. Things like mental illness, poverty, and limited opportunities to improve our quality of life. These issues are the societal cracks that Joker falls through during his transformation from a sad mentally ill man into the villainous character we know he will become.
Another powerful element the movie introduces is the idea that the "good" characters of the story, like the Wayne family, that have previously been characterized as kindly and charitable billionaires primarily concerned with using their wealth to improve the plight of others, are here somewhat closer to their real-world counterparts. Their public image is similar to that of previous incarnations, but the movie provides numerous clues that their private actions may not be as altruistic, an extremely clever tactic as it makes the characters feel more three-dimensional and sets the stage for a more sophisticated portrayal of the hero in later films. It also neatly frames the main characters, as Joker's thematic power is frequently described by suggesting that he is the mirror opposite of Batman. So here we see that Bruce Wayne, undeniably sitting at one extreme as a full beneficiary of the structure of society, is in opposition with the Joker, who sits at the other extreme as a victim of the same system.
This portrayal is constrained by the fact that the Joker is an unreliable narrator, meaning that at several points you're given a stark reminder that what you see in the film is his version, or his version filtered through his illness, rather than objective truth. It's impossible to fully know what parts are real and what parts are the creations of his mind, though personally I think there is sufficient evidence to suggest that much of his anger derives from real injustices. Either way, the way the film constructs the narrative is intensely clever, never quite letting you settle on a conclusion with much confidence, which gives the truth a fluid quality that matches Joker's unbalanced nature.
One example of this in particular deserves special recognition. It involves the Joker discovering a long-hidden secret that has the effect of accelerating his break with reality. But as he investigates he uncovers further information that calls the initial revelation into question, as do several further discoveries. Then, just as everything appears to be settled, there's a final reveal that hints at yet another dark, unsettling secret. The whole chain of events plays out with such fantastic subtlety and nuance that I couldn't help but admire it. Making events feel organic and natural in films is a mark of truly masterful writing and directing. You wouldn't think it, it seems like such a simple thing, but watch enough movies and you'll realize how difficult it really is by observing how few movies manage to pull it off with such finesse.
I'll finish by saying that if you haven't seen the movie yet and are on the fence, I highly recommend it. I know a lot of industry reviewers gave the film middling scores, but in this case I think they are well off the mark. This was a powerful, captivating movie with a powerhouse performance by Joaquin Phoenix, excellent writing and directing, and a strong message that may not always be comfortable, but is, I think, always entertaining and thought provoking.