I confess, when I heard a standalone Joker film had been green-lit by Warner Bros, I was gutted. “Another cinematic Joker outside the DCEU?”, “The Joker doesn’t need a backstory!” These were my first thoughts as I wondered if Warner Bros and DC films didn’t have enough cock-ups already. Well…I’m glad to report that I was wrong. The Joker is the movie I didn’t want, but the movie I’m glad we got. The Todd Phillips (A Star is Born, The Hangover trilogy, Road Trip) directed movie has been the most thought provoking film I’ve experienced in quite some time. This isn't just another ‘comic book movie’. Joker might be based on one of the most popular comic book characters of all time, but it certainly isn’t a follower of the thematic trope which the genre has popularly become associated with. The Joker is a wildcard, at a time when there seemed to be only one way of making comic book movies, it’s a drama, a thriller, a contemporary documentary and a comic book movie rolled into one. Let's check it out, shall we?
WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS HUGE JOKER SPOILERS
A MASTERFUL PERFORMANCE
For many Batman fans like myself, Heath Ledger will forever be the definitive live-action Joker, but there’s little doubt that Joaquin Phoenix will be coming in as a close second (or even taking first place) for some fans now. Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal as the awkward and mentally unbalanced Arthur Fleck/Joker is nothing short of masterful, as Arthur struggles to come to terms with the poor cards he’s been dealt; his attempt to see the silver lining is continuously clouded as he’s trampled upon by a society who couldn’t care less about him. His transformation from Arthur Fleck to Joker is agonizingly slow, but it’s well worth the wait once the gloves (or hinges) come off, as he takes on a new lease of life, one that would make society wish they were paying better attention. Phoenix easily straddles between pitiable and despicable, as you’re cheering him on in one minute and jeering him in another, making him a pretty relatable villain. His scrawny appearance and awkward demeanor genuinely make him hard to watch, and his exaggerated condition of the Pseudobulbar affect (uncontrollable laughter) adds a new layer to the Joker’s already menacing reputation. it’s much scarier when you know he isn’t always laughing.
‘MULTIPLE CHOICE’
Since his introduction, the Joker’s origin story has always been shrouded in mystery, with Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke (1988), being the closest thing to canon, but still largely resisted by hardcore Joker fans. Even the Joker himself isn’t a big fan of an origin story as he stated in that particular book that, ‘if he ever had a past he’d prefer it to be multiple choice’. This was indirectly paid homage to, by Heath Ledger’s Joker whenever he concocted stories about how he got his scars, and it’s easy to see Todd Phillips’ also nod to that aspect of the character’s backstory, after all, Joker is loosely based on The Killing Joke. While the allusion to multiple backstories is not quite as clear cut as it was in The Dark Knight (2008), In the Joker, you’re essentially asked to make up your own story for the character: Was Arthur truly a product of Thomas Wayne and Penny Fleck’s affair or was he adopted? Was he truly abused by his mother or did she truly love him? Or did the love affair even happen in the first place or is it just a figment of his mother’s broken imagination? Did the whole movie really unfold or is Arthur just some crazed guy in an asylum? Todd Phillips subtly feeds the audience with a series of suggestions and asks us to fill in the gaps, leaving the film open to interpretation and ensuring no two viewers will get the same exact experience.
‘IS THIS THE REAL LIFE? IS THIS JUST FANTASY?’
A recurring theme in the Joker was determining what was real or fantasy, for the audience and certainly for Arthur. It’s presented quite early on that Arthur clearly has a habit of daydreaming and may not quite have a handle on reality when he pictures himself as a guest on the Murray Franklin show. And this serves to be the medium on which the film's Red Herring is expertly deliivered, as the audience discovers that Arthur’s relationship with Sophie Dumond (Zazie Beetz) - the only thing which he seemingly has going for him, had been in his head all along; revealing to the audience just how far-gone the previously mild-mannered clown had been all this time. It’s so simple, but oh so well done.
THE SOUND OF JOKER
Composed by Hildur Guðnadóttir, the Joker score is a character all on its own…dark, desolate, melancholic and menacing. Adding another layer to Phoenix’s performance, as it explicitly seems to convey Arthur Fleck’s thoughts and emotions. This couldn't have been better elaborated in the Bathroom Scene, when Arthur dances a somewhat celebratory dance after the murder of his first victims. The music used in that particular scene conveyed so much, it could be considered as a pathway into the dark abyss of Arthur Fleck’s mind.
A TALE OF TWO JOKERS
Despite portraying the same character, (in my opinion) Phoenix and Ledger’s Jokers can’t be directly compared, since they’re presented under very different circumstances – For starters, Ledger’s Joker is essentially set in a grounded cinematic reality, whereas Phoenix’s feels more tactile, lifelike, like what the Joker would be if he if he was here, breathing the same air as I am. Also, Ledger’s Joker is a finished product, he’s the Joker Batman comes toe to toe with, while Phoenix’s Joker is relatively in his infancy (it’s an origin story after all) and there’s also the small matter of the age rating; The Dark Knight was rated PG-13, while the Joker is rated R for its much darker themes of violence and mental illness. Either way both actors were exceptional with the material at hand; with Ledger eventually winning an Oscar posthumous. A feat, which given Phoenix’s performance wouldn’t be a far-fetched consideration.
FINAL THOUGHTS
For a comic book movie about a murderous wannabe comedian, the Joker superbly balances it's script and character development without overly attempting to be contemporary or brilliant. It finds the time to address our world today, the wealth gaps, the neglect of those truly in need, and the growing recognition of mental illness as a silent killer in the society, while still delivering a few doses of fantastically executed humour (It's about a comedian after all). With critical acclaim and positive reception of the movie by critics and fans alike, Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix have not quite kept the door shut on the possibility of a sequel or spin-off, with Phoenix confirming that he enjoyed playing the Joker and would maybe like to explore more of the character. This might sound selfish, but I would really like the movie to remain as a standalone masterpiece, with no sequels or spin-offs (We all know how those can turn out), but then again as the Joker showed, what I want isn’t usually the best course of action.
Ethan Hawk recently said that ‘a good movie starts when you leave the cinema’. While popcorn movies give you a sense of excitement and wonder during their runtime, they’re rarely thought provoking or memorable long after, but great movies keep you pondering long after the last credits have rolled. And the Joker certainly falls into that category. Dark, risky, provocative, ingenious and divisive. Joker is sure to garner praise and otherwise, while generating tons of conversations and debates, but then again, isn’t that what great art strives to do? A serious contender for film of the year.
Reject Rating: 9/10
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