Review: Joker (2019)

TIFF: Joker (2019)

Part of the magic of the Batman and the Joker is the fluidity we have seen throughout the years in their character and genre of story. From the 1960's tv show, to the Burton era, to the various animated shows, to the Nolan trilogy, each variation has had its highly-unique and also successful take on these legendary characters. With regards to Joker himself, I don't think I'd be wrong to say that many of us did not think a new spin on the character could ever reach the heights of Heath Ledger's portrayal in The Dark Knight (this is even coming from me who has read plentiful intriguing Joker stories with  potential for adaptation). And yet, here we are today, with Todd Phillip's "Joker" and I do say with confidence - it is a game-changer.

Joker is an absolutely incredible film that plays tribute not only to classic Batman stories but also, astoundingly, to some of director, Martin Scorsese's, classics. It is like the love child of famed comic, The Killing Joke, with equally-famed films, Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. Phillips and Scott Silver wind an exceptional script about Arthur Fleck, a man suffering from demons both internal and external, who slowly loses faith and trust in the world and city that he lives in. He works as a clown during the day with aspirations of being a stand-up comic and both of these personas slowly seep into the frustrated and slowly violent thoughts that enter his mind. The majesty of the film is in its slow burn as we watch Fleck's world and grasp on reality continue to disintegrate following interactions he has with the people and institutions around him. I don't want to give away too much but there are astounding scenes here: ones that are fully original and ones that draw inspiration from the mentioned stories. The film has that slow almost nightmarish quality to it that is impossible to not be drawn into.

One cannot discuss this film without immediately acknowledging Joaquin Phoenix. As Arthur Fleck/Joker, Phoenix is simply unbelievable. This is not only the best performance I have seen this year but perhaps one of the best I have seen in a number of years. I will put my money down now that he will win Best Actor at this year's Oscars (yes, I am not going to go into that whole other tantalizing discussion how that would lead to two individuals winning Oscars for portraying the Joker). Both the physical and tormented aspects that Phoenix lends to Fleck are impossible to look away from - he is equally mesmerizing, frightening and sorrowful to watch. In particular, one of the most incredible pieces that Phoenix creates are Fleck's different 'laughs' - I will perhaps save further discussion of this point for a future post after the film has been released.

Joker checks the boxes in so many ways - it will appeal to comic book lovers, dramas and classic crime films. It grounds the 'comic book' story in ways that have never been done before (even to the extent that Nolan tried to do so) and it opens up a future for comic stories that likely would appeal to those who so adamantly state the genre is not for them. Phillips, Phoenix and the team they have assembled have done something that simply must be seen by all - it was easily one of the best films of the year.

PS Discussion:

It really saddens me how a lot of the current discussion revolving around Joker has been condemnation and controversy that the film sympathizes or may inspire troubled individuals to carry out violent attacks on the public. I, again, don't want to get into this fully here (I think I will write a full post about this later), but I agree with everything Philips and Phoenix have responded with in interviews and it bothers me that this discussion has negatively affected the film's critical reviews and momentum leading to its release. Like all films and stories of any kind in the past, people will and can interpret stories as they wish. We should not be censoring or condemning stories because they may be challenging - that is a very slippery slope - and people who wish to commit violence (something I absolutely condemn) will always find something out there to 'inspire' them. And the argument about the Aurora shooter that is circulating is simply false - at no point did the shooter ever make a statement that he was inspired by the Joker or by The Dark Knight - that is simply false. Additionally, Joker does shed negative light on mental illness. Yes, Philips has said that the portrayal is that Fleck does suffer from some mental illness, however, the film purposefully never states what the specific illness is. Previous films and stories have surely similarly been about individuals who suffer illness who carry out acts of violence and, again, we cannot begin censoring these types of stories just because they challenge us or, possibly, act as a unappealing mirror to what does occasionally happen in our own society.