Not the Typical Super Hero Movie

Rating: 8/10 (13 October 2019)

Check your optimism at the door, there is none here. The Joker parks itself at the corner of hopelessness and despair with no end to it in sight. Whatever seems positive will eventually be seen for a desperate illusion of reality. This is not the stereotypical and all too predictable super hero movie where there is a good guy and a bad guy who fight each other and eventually the good guy comes out on top in the end. It is not the stereotypical American film either, there is nothing optimistic about the movie nor is it realistic either, it's very pessimistic.
The movie is about a working clown's tragic life who works at a bad job and is afflicted with mental issues. At the same time he has to take care of his old lobotomized fragile mother in a run down apartment. He eventually has turn of luck that leads his already depressing life into something grim and dark. The Joker descends into a violent mad man as the movie progresses. But he is just not a mad man but a popular mad man that is considered iconic to many.
There is a tragic social/political world where all of this takes place. The entire atmosphere of Joker's life seems to provide this gritty merciless world where graffiti is on the walls of buildings and buses, the have nots are 'clowns,' and where there are snooty elites that perfume their noses while looking down on them. The working people end up identifying with the Joker's actions as a sign of anti-elitism. These people may view the Joker as an anti-elitist but his actions are far less refined and sophisticated, a bit nihilistic in fact. The Joker does things simply because he can, not out of vengeance.
Joaquin Phoenix's Joker is stands on its' own merits. His portrayal of a disturbed Joker was believable and tragic. We see a man who is relatively unhappy turn into a far more darker character. The Joker is still within the realm of Alan Moore's Joker from the "Killing Joke." The Joker is nihilistic, violent, and has very little reason to do what he is doing. He is violent, simply because he can be. There is nothing more to it.
Todd Phillips' directing is great. The music, the camera angles, the editing, and the necessary quiet subtleties of a movie that are often ignored were excellently done. There are hints of Scorsese films like Taxi Driver and the King of Comedy which added some flavor to the film. The only part that felt weak was the plot.
I found myself at the end of the Joker asking what's the point of it all. I don't think the Joker knows neither does the viewer. His reasoning is simply because he felt like it. For me, this weakened the plot considering the Joker went through great lengths in order to unleash his madness.I didn't understand how was I supposed to feel at the end, it was just emptiness, I suppose that was the aim. Great film.