JOKER: Is He or isn’t He

Joker is about Arthur Fleck, a quiet mentally unstable man, who lives with his mother and works as a clown during the day but dreams of becoming a comedian. An inadvertent murder on a train and a series of other events emboldens Arthur to come out from his shell as he eventually has “nothing to lose”.

Dark and emotionally disturbing that is how I would describe Joker. It does have a dark setting like the rest of the DCEU films but that is the only thing they all have in common. This is the origin story of one of Batman’s greatest enemies, the Joker, but it seemed like just a regular film with a few elements of the DC comic thrown in at the last minute. It is set in the city of Gotham at a time when the divide between the rich and the poor was getting wider. In this version, Thomas Wayne is not the kind-hearted philanthropist but an arrogant Trump-like figure with the ambition to become the mayor of Gotham in order to liberate the poor “clowns” of the city. Bruce Wayan is a child in this version and his parents were killed by a random guy wearing a clown mask. All that and a few other tweaks.

What I liked most about the film was Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as Arthur which is the best I have seen in 2019. He immersed himself into the character that it felt like I was actually watching a real mentally ill person. I had to pull myself back a number of times to reality that this is an actor, this is Joaquin Phoenix. It was more about the character Arthur Fleck than about the maniacal Joker character; Arthur’s struggles, mental illness, dreams, feelings and the events from his childhood that shaped the man he became. Did I mention that Arthur was also malnourished? Poor guy couldn’t get a break: abused by his mother’s boyfriend when he was young, he laughs hysterically when he is nervous or sad, and even his romantic relationship with his down-the-hall neighbor ended up being a delusion.

Towards the end when he was invited to a talk show, he did dress up as a clown and asked the host, Murray Franklin to introduce him as the Joker. But is he or isn’t he the Joker we have seen in the past? We’ll see.

From directing comedies in the past like the Hangover films to creating a master piece as Joker, Todd Philips set out to re-create rather than recycle this comic character (thumbs up).

This film is not for everyone though. You either love it or hate it. I love the artistry in making the film but it’s too emotionally disturbing for me to see it again anytime soon. There is some really graphic killing scenes so be forewarned.

Joker was meant to be a standalone movie but I read that there is a probability of a next film and I hope that happens because I am excited to see where Arthur’s journey takes him. Laterz.