One of the best films of the decade, A unique film, A masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (7 May 2020)

For the first time in a long while, we have a movie based on a comic book character that is both interesting and different. I've long bemoaned the current fad for making superhero movies which try to delve into the imagined psyches and motivations of their central characters. For me, this usually doesn't work and completely misses the trick about why people go to see such movies. Joker is the exception. It is stunning. To be honest, this is probably due to their being more to play with in exploring what turns a man into an evil villain rather than a hero but the success of this film is largely due to a mesmerising performance by Joaquin Phoenix who portrays the downtrodden, mentally fragile Arthur Fleck, a put upon entertainer and clown, gradually turn from a social misfit into a psychopathic killer. Much of the transformation unfolds with simple meaningful gestures, glances and outbursts of maniacal and inopportune laughter from the character and Phoenix gives his all to the role. The backdrop of a greasy, dirty, crime-riddled Gotham city is perfectly realised as a thinly disguised New York of the late 70s/early 80s. It is a seedy, nasty city filled with grinding poverty and bleak prospects. Director Todd Phillips definitely raises the bar on what this kind of movie can be and has given us the best graphic novel/comic derived movie in several years. Let's hope this becomes the model for what is to bound come as the superhero genre is surely set to continue.