Joaquin Phoenix's Tour De Force Performance Is Deeply Immersive In A Very Personal Film

Rating: 8/10 (29 October 2019)

Joker takes an uncompromisingly bleak look into a warped mind that is gradually undone by reckless decisions and societal let down. Exploring the concept of "one bad day" that is reminiscent of Alan Moore's seminal The Killing Joke graphic novel, writer-director Todd Phillips holds nothing back in his gritty and pulpy adaptation of a well-known DC-comics character. For the first time and perhaps not the last, the Joker character is given a deeply thorough characterization that makes him both repulsive and endearing/sympathetic often in the same scene. It cannot be overstated the sheer method-acting work that lead Joaquin Phoenix invests into the role as his commitment is boundless.
Thanks to some very adept direction, cinematography and scripting, Phoenix is given a proper sandbox to let loose and chew scenery and, by movie's end, you truly feel for him in all his unhinged madness. Phoenix effectively mines emotional shades of the Joker that previous live action actors weren't able to accomplish. His portrayal isn't of the anarchic terrorist bend that the late Heath Ledger exhibited nor is he the campy, mustache-twirler of Jack Nicholson or César Romero. Phoenix gifts us with a truly relatable depiction that is totally in sync with our uncertain times.
On the production front, Philips takes a welcome stylistic page out of vintage Martin Scorsese's playbook as he emulates the qualities of his canon while not being a direct carbon-copy. As is expected, the Gotham City of Philip's world looks, feels and behaves like the turbulent New York City of the 1970s and 1980s as his attention to detail is astonishing and unnerving. Altogether, "Joker" succeeds as a commentary on stigma with mental illness as well as what it means to be a misunderstood citizen of a society that has lost its way and just how many people fall through the cracks without getting the requisite care and consideration that we all deserve. It's a necessary watch and one that will leave you contemplating long after the credits roll.