MOVIE REVIEW: JOKER
Sometimes, we enjoy different interpretations of certain characters....especially in comics. Now...for those who are in the know about The Joker---we DO know one thing: When it comes to WHO he is---we haven't the foggiest idea where and when he came from. One of the few things we CAN be sure of, was that he was the Red Hood before he became the Clown Prince of Crime. But...since BATMAN #1, it's safe to say that the Joker's origin has been altered in about half a million ways over the course of 80 years. We have NO CLUE what the TRUE origin of the Joker is. But we DO know he's a psychotic, homicidal maniac who enjoys getting his kicks with the suffering and pain of others----that's where he gets his laughs.
Interpretations CAN be entertaining...and quite fascinating. Joker is such a tale.
No one would've EVER thought that there would be a solo Joker movie---yet, here we are. Warner Bros. 2019 movie about our Madcap Clown is a robust and dark journey into the mind of an extremely disturb man named Arthur Fleck, and his ever losing grip on his sanity. It's a movie that shows the decay of society, and proves that one bad day can change ANYONE at any time.
The movie takes place in the mid-to-late 1970's....and I credit Warner Bros. for adding their logo from that time period at the beginning of the movie to give it that nostalgia kind of feel...as well as with the ending credits. The overall asthetic of the movie gave it an old school feel...like it was really shot from that period in time. Gotham City looks as lost and dingy, dirty and dark. The cinematography adds and extra touch. Todd Phillips' direction and vision are very reminiscent of the 70's--disenfranchised public about their civil leaders, crime, poverty, unemployment. The overall hardship that this country suffered through in that decade, as well as the rise of the anti-hero...and making serial killers and criminals into cult heroes. This movie brings a whole ton of baggage this country went through right with it, and put it on display for nearly two hours. The music also served to fit the times, as a lot of adult standards were used to fit the time. Very little rock 'n' roll songs. The standards fit the theme as well, and helped carry this movie and set the tone.
Joaquin Phoenix is an amazing actor...able to blend into his roles with such fantastic ease. His take on the Maniacal Jester is a fascinating trip. He looks the part of a man who looks beaten down, nervous, ill at ease, quickly breaks out his own maniacal laugh, and comes down into a bit of normalcy with such fluidity. The peek into his mind---his imagination---from fantasizing about the relationship with the neighbor down the hall, to being on the Murray Franklin Show (played by Robert DeNiro). His obsession being a stand-up comic and being on his show leads to his eventual downfall. He is the focal point of a character study that is very reminiscent of what Scorsese did in movies like Taxi Driver. A man who sees what's wrong with the world, but doesn't do anything about it, until he's drawn into it. He's aware of what's going on, but chooses not to participate. He can care less about the ails of the world around him...until he's had to deal with the loss of his state medical benefits, the ill health of his mother (who is another story in and of itself), to being accosted by men from the corporate sector who bully him to the point he shoots them in cold blood.
He becomes the face of a movement that gives him a level of sick excitement. People rising up against politicians and corporations like Wayne Enterprises, sick of being pushed down and oppressed. Thomas Wayne is NOT painted in a good light in this movie. He is seen as a hard-nosed businessman who is running for mayor of Gotham. The men Fleck kills on the train are employees of Wayne. To add onto this, his mother, Penny, who has mental issues of her own, writes a letter to Thomas Wayne, saying that Arthur is his son. At first, Thomas wants to have a meeting with Thomas at Wayne Manor, and introduces himself to a young Bruce Wayne, Alfred ends up shooing him off before tending to young Bruce. Later on, we see him being able to confront Thomas face to face, only for Thomas to rebuff him, saying that his mother Penny had worked for him, but was mentally unstable. When Arthur wanted more of an audience, he gets decked for his troubles.
Arthur's life from the beginning of the movie is a rollercoaster ride of the worst kind. From getting beat up by kids who steal his sign for his job, to being lectured by his boss, to eventually being fired because a fellow co-worker lent him a gun for protection, and it fell out of his pants while at a children's hospital, thus losing his job. The constant care he must give to his mother, who is mentally AND physically unwell, to her eventual hospitalization. He finds out he was adopted, and also discover he was beaten and abused as a child, thus making him a timid man. A love life he imagines in his head, only to scare the woman down the hall he imagined being involved with when he came home after murdering his mother with a pillow. We see him unraveling throughout the whole film. When he's mocked on the Murray Franklin Show, it's just another in a long line of things that set Fleck off. His old co-workers come to visit him when they learn about his mother, only for him to murder two of them in cold blood for letting him get fired, and not sticking up for him. He decides he needs a change, and begins to adopt the clown face as part of his comedy act. He's contacted by the Murray Franklin Show to be a guest on the panel, so he goes dressed up in a light purple suit, and dressed like a clown. He asks Murray to introduce him as "Joker", and sits on the panel, telling jokes that aren't funny to Murray. He then confesses on national television that he killed the men in the subway that worked for Wayne, that he and several others out there are oppressed, beaten down, and treated like dirt. Murray tries to let him know what he did was wrong, and that was the last straw for Fleck, who, in turn, shoots Murray at point blank range, thus killing him. He then starts firing at the crowd, laughing hysterically.
Joker is taken into custody, but as he's on his way downtown, he witnesses the rioting and chaos in the streets...the people wearing clown masks. It looks like they have adopted him as a folk hero. He smiles at the violence outside. Then, there's an accident as the cop car gets rammed into. People in clown masks remove him from the car, and lay him on the hood. The rioting and violence continue. He wakes up, and sees everything around him...and he loves it! He dances on the hood, as the masses cheer him, rever him, and chant his hame. Meanwhile, we pan back from the violence to see Thomas & Martha Wayne trying to escape the violence, only to be shot and killed in a dingy alleyway, with a young Bruce Wayne watching on.
This was an exceptional movie. The performances were stellar, and it was a very intriguing take on the Joker's origin. While not canon in any way, it serves as one of a number of possibilities as to how this man came into being. This movie also provided a commentary about society back in the 1970's, but it's a mirror of also what happens in the world of today, so there's heavy relevance. We get to see inside the mind of an unhinged man, and what it took to eventually push him over the edge. My only set back was that it was a bit confusing as to when you saw Arthur's imagination, as to his reality in certain parts of the film. It was a bit offsetting and jarring, and didn't quite feel so cohesive. But all in all, a very quality film that I recommend.
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