An amazing collaboration- Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix have really done it!

Rating: 10/10 (22 October 2019)

This was the first DC movie that I actually paid attention to and paid money to see. I did go into the cinema with high expectations after watching the teaser for the film. Already, Joaquin Phoenix had astonished me with his talent. It was within the first 10 minutes of the movie that had captured me.
It is clear that writer, producer and director Todd Phillips should be credited for this as he kept the audience hooked from the beginning till the end.
The way in which Arthur Fleck's life was portrayed was truly amazing storytelling and really took the audience to new lengths in explaining his real life story. Interestingly, Todd Phillips uses the struggling society and city of Gotham to reflect the physical and mental state of Arthur. In doing so, he explained contemporary anxieties and how society's actions impact our lives in terms of behaviour and how it makes us who we really are.
From a young age, we are taught that there are heroes and villains. We are always told that the hero needs to defeat the villain and shouldn't be questioned because it is for the "greater good". However, we never really stopped to think why it is we have heroes and why we have villains in this world. Instead, we're immediately taught that villains correspond to being evil- that a villain should be punished by a hero. However, after watching the life story of Arthur fleck, is it actually correct to call him a "villain"?
Should someone who has been so badly treated by a toxic society be labelled as a villain? Isn't it true of nature for someone to cry when they are upset? To laugh when told a joke? Actions do have consequences. This is simply the same way it is for Arthur fleck to criticise his society for kicking him when he was down- for pushing him away when he wanted him- for refusing to put on a happy face when all he wanted to do was to be truly happy when society didn't let him.
So yes, Arthur may have done some things that make him fall under the category of a "villain", but who is the true villain?- him or society?
After continuously being beat down and trampled on by society, Arthur fleck began consultation where he would receive medication and "support" from a therapist. In this way, it could be said that the medication Arthur was given, may have made his condition worse eg: depression/ anxiety. Aside from this, Arthur had a therapist who would simply "read lines from a script" instead of listening and actually helping him. This is part of the major issue in society whereby the people who are vulnerable and needy are pushed away by those who have power, even if it is only a little bit. People like Arthur are neither seen, nor heard and the only time they will be - when they do something that goes against the "rules of society" because "putting on a happy face" doesn't work for everyone.
As the film progresses, Arthur is taken off the very little support he will have been given and stripped from his job. With nothing left, Arthur began hallucinating and suffering from psychosis- believing that things were real when they actually weren't- developing negative thoughts. All he has is "negative thoughts".
Moving onto the acting in this movie...
Joaquin Phoenix as the lead role was a brilliant decision made by Todd Phillips and other casting directors. It is vital that that a role such as JOKER should be played correctly, without a single fault- especially after Heath ledger's Oscar winning performance. Joaquin was nothing short of excellent. Utter perfection. Not a single fault in his acting. From breaking out into laughter to playing an emotionally and mentally wrecked character- Phoenix mastered it all. An Oscar Win is essential and exactly what he deserves. Every moment, every word spoken and every frame that was shot was done to perfection.
By Saniya Khan
Assisted by Khadijah Sharif
Thank you to the cast and crew for a brilliant movie and conveying a strong message that needed to be seen and heard.