Social commentary smiling in your face

Rating: 10/10 (14 October 2019)

"Joker" is a 2019 drama directed by Todd Phillips starring Joaquin Phoenix and Robert DeNiro. When it was announced that the director of the "Hangover" trilogy would do a standalone movie for Batman's arch nemesis, many people expected it to be a total disaster, but when the first pictures were released around a year ago my doubts made way for extreme curiosity. Even more, when the first trailer arrived. After this I declared it a potential masterpiece. In those few minutes of footage it gave me goosebumps, mostly because it reminded me of "Taxi Driver" and even "Requiem For A Dream". As a die hard Heath Ledger fan, I was genuinely interested to see how Phoenix would portray the clown prince of Gotham. Now I finally got the chance to experience it - and it was worth the wait. From start to finish the film throws the audience into the depressing alleys of Gotham city and conveys the sad and oppressive atmosphere nonstop. As I expected, Joaquin Phoenix once again shows that he's one of the most versatile actors of his generation and delivers a powerhouse performance that still impresses me hours after the credits rolled. He gave his portrayal something no one has done before, he made him human and inhuman at the same time, an anti-hero the audience hates to identify with. The way he laughs, how he moves and dances and even his outer appearance gave this version something unique and outstanding. He treated Ledgers legacy well, least to say. It's reported that people walked out of the screening stating that it's to violent, but I think the people just felt uncomfortable, because they felt ashamed that what they saw is exactly how our modern society works. That's one of the most important aspects of the whole film: The social criticism hits you right in the face and makes you reconsider your own values and social behaviour. Of course it had gritty violence as well, but the way it was selectively used made it so unsettling. The plot is rich in detail and an absolutely well paced decline of the sanity of a social outcast. It even features instances of an unreliable narrator that fits perfectly with the overall storytelling. Several scenes gave me goosebumps and the feeling that they someday will be as iconic as the best "Taxi Driver" moments and I genuinely loved it. The final act was even the best of the whole film, it's dark and packing and I liked how it occasionally connected the independent story to the comic book source as well.
All in all, this film is a modern masterpiece that leaves you speechless multiple times and despite it's comic book origin manages to be something original. It is an outstanding character study about a social outcast that hits us at the correct spots: The way we treat people with mental illness and people that we consider as worthless. That's what this movie shows us, if we want it or not. That's what makes it so incredibly magnificent. It will haunt you, but justified. If Joaquin Phoenix won't get the Oscar as the best actor, many people will riot on the streets like Joker's henchmen. That's for sure.