Joker (2019 film)

Joker is a 2019 American psychological thriller film directed and co-written by Todd Phillips.
== Synopsis ==
Arthur Fleck, a party clown and a failed stand-up comedian, leads an impoverished life with his ailing mother. However, when society shuns him and brands him as a freak, he decides to embrace the life of crime and chaos in Gotham City.Joker - IMDB - Retrieved 27 August 2024
==Cast==
*Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck
*Robert De Niro as Murray Franklin
*Zazie Beetz as Sophie Dumond
*Frances Conroy as Penny Fleck
*Brett Cullen as Thomas Wayne
*Carrie Louise Putrello as Martha Wayne
*Douglas Hodge as Alfred Pennyworth
*Dante Pereira-Olson as Bruce Wayne
==Reception==
===Contemporary===
==== News media ====
Justin Chang of The Los Angeles Times believed that it was a good film, but potentially dangerous given the potential of turning the character into an incel mascot. Kathleen Newman-Bremang of Refinery29 Canada felt that the film was dangerous and potentially an inspiration to incels, noting that she received death threats after writing an article on the film. Toronto film critic John Semley felt that the film posed no danger, and that films could not "have a direct causal relationship to real-world violence." He additionally accused Phillips of exploiting the film's controversy to get the film attention, for what Semley perceived to be a "confused and muddled and occasionally competently made film". Semley noted common comparisons to "Taxi Driver" and "The King of Comedy", but deemed it to be closer in quality to "Death Wish".Is Joker dangerous, unsettling or 'random button-pressing?' - Jessica Wong - 4 October 2019 - CBC News - Retrieved 27 August 2024 - Archived 27 August 2024
====Internet media====
Brad Jones and Rob Walker disagreed about the film. Jones noted its resemblance to prior films such as "Taxi Driver" and "The King of Comedy", as well as comparing the plot to the 1984 New York City Subway shooting. Walker drew issue with tie-ins to the wider Batman mythology and political statements by the character. Both felt that the film removed its ambiguity to its own detriment.Joker - Midnight Screenings Review - Stoned Gremlin Productions - 4 October 2019 - YouTube - Retrieved 27 August 2024
Joe Vargas, Joe Lopez, and Alex Tune all agreed the film was good. Vargas compared Phoenix's performance favourably to that of Jared Leto. Vargas, Lopez and Tune did not feel the film was a good DC Comics film or an accurate representation of the Joker. Tune felt in particular that the comics elements of the film had not been planned from the beginning and had been added to get the film made. Vargas felt that "The King of Comedy" was used as a crutch to support the film.JOKER Angry Movie Review - AngryJoeShow - 4 October 2019 - YouTube - Retrieved 27 August 2024
Mike Stoklasa and Jay Bauman of Red Letter Media felt that fears of incels were overblown and that the film critiqued them, and that is espoused a counter-cultural left-wing message. Bauman felt that the script had been reworked into a Joker movie, and felt that Fleck was an unrealistic character, whereas Travis Bickle felt like a real individual. Bauman additionally felt it unlikely that a clown committing subway murders would inspire a left-wing uprising, while Stoklasa felt that it harkened back to prior historical incidents and that the film had spent time setting it up.Half in the Bag: Joker - RedLetterMedia - 6 October 2019 - YouTube - Retrieved 27 August 2024
Jenny Nicholson felt that the film's world was over the top in its levels of cynicism and violence to an unrealistic extent. She also felt that it failed to deliver on its themes. She also found the film repetitive, and as a result, boring. However, she also complimented Phoenix's performance, with some exceptions, comparing his dancing to Meryl Streep in "Mamma Mia!". Nicholson concluded the film was vague and devoid of any coherent message, allowing it to be used as a political statement by any given movement.Well, I didn’t like Joker - Jenny Nicholson - 17 October 2019 - YouTube - Retrieved 27 August 2024
===Terrorism speculations===
Survivors of the 2012 Aurora theater shooting wrote a letter to Warner Bros., voicing their concerns that the film would inspire similar mass shootings They did not call for a boycott, but did ask the studio to stop contributing donations to anti-gun reform political candidates.Aurora Shooting Victims Voice Fears Over ‘Joker’ in Letter to Warner Bros. - Ryan Parker - 24 September 2019 - The Hollywood Reporter - Retrieved 27 August 2024 Theatre chains increased security in response to concerns.Joker concerns prompt theaters to boost security - James Hibberd - 28 September 2019 - Entertainment Weekly - Retrieved 27 August 2024 - Archived 29 September 2019At Least One Theater Chain Is Increasing Security for Joker Screenings - Julie Muncy - 29 September 2019 - Gizmodo - Retrieved 27 August 2024 - Archived 30 September 2019 The United States Army warned its service members that the Pentagon and the FBI had tracked online incel communications and was concerned about terrorist attacks.U.S. Military Issues Warning to Troops About Incel Violence at Joker Screenings - Dell Cameron - 24 September 2019 - Gizmodo - Retrieved 27 August 2024 - Archived 24 September 2019Mass shooting victims and the US Army are warning about 'Joker.' But how worried should people be? - Katie Dowd - 2 October 2019 - SFGATE - Retrieved 27 August 2024
Phillips responded to the concerns by saying he'd attempted to make the film as realistic as possible to better affect the viewer, and that films were reflections of society and did not exude control over it.Joaquin Phoenix discusses preparing for role in ‘Joker’ - Lindsey Bahr - 31 August 2019 - AP News - Retrieved 27 August 2024 Phoenix walked out of an interview with The Telegraph over questions about the film potentially inspiring violence.No Joker: Why Joaquin Phoenix walked out of our interview - Robbie Collin - 20 September 2019 - The Telegraph - Retrieved 27 August 2024 - Archived 23 September 2019Joaquin Phoenix Couldn’t Answer the Most Obvious Question About Joker‘s Subject Matter - Charles Pulliam Moore - 23 September 2019 - Gizmodo - Retrieved 27 August 2024 - Archived 23 September 2019
==Links==
*Joker on Wikipedia
*Joker on IMDB
*Joker on TV Tropes
==References==
Category:The Joker
Category:Fiction
Category:Real films
Category:Real American films
Category:Real thriller films
Category:Real American thriller films
Category:Real films released in 2019