I am in the stance that a character like the Joker works best due his continued mysterious origin. Many have tried, however, to give us glimpses into the person underneath the clown make-up from different perspectives over the years. In the big screen, the two best portrayals – Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger – have ranged from being a campy mobster to a chaotic anarchist, but both depictions still remain true to the character’s heritage. Joaquin Phoenix can now be added to the character’s list of compelling portrayals, as he is the main stand out in spite of the bizarre, ridiculous script of the stand-alone origin movie of Batman’s nemesis. Joker is an attempt at tackling the character from yet another different angle altogether, giving him a full origin story that’s relentlessly brutal but also regrettably flat.
Joker comes in with a sea of buzz and controversy surrounding it. The film won big at the Venice Film Festival, prompting an eight-minute standing ovation after the premiere. But there is much concern about its capacity to incite violence that Warner Bros. had to issue a statement ensuring people that it’s not an “endorsement of violence.” Some theaters have also banned Joker cosplay, a staple in comic book movie premieres, in several screenings.
Joaquin Phoenix feels very much at home in Joker. He is at his best when he’s allowed to just be lost inside his character, as we’ve seen in his best works like Gladiator and Her. This time, he plays Arthur Fleck, the man who would become the homicidal maniac Joker. By day, he works as a party clown-for-rent, and by night, he takes care of his sickly mother, Penny Fleck (Frances Conroy), while watching the only bright gem of his day, a late night talk show.
Arthur has always lived the life of a victim, with the universe seemingly plotting against him since he could remember. He suffers from an unknown Tourette’s-like condition that causes him to burst out with uncontrollable laughter, painting him as a freak. On his job, he is jumped by a group of delinquents and bashes his sign for a store sale across his face. To add insult to injury, his boss accuses him of stealing the sign himself and deducts the cost from his salary. The city’s social services are being cut, which means he can no longer get his regular therapy and meds. The string of bad luck goes on. So what does a guy like Arthur do? As you may have guessed, all these circumstances only lead him to down the dark path of violence, the only time he feels in control. Every time he does something bad, there’s music in his head that makes him dance and twist his skinny, gnarled body around. It’s two hours of Arthur being a caricature of mental illness – that’s only ever really showcased through his absurd cackle and his notebook of demented scribblings – and the transformation of his “misunderstood” loneliness into murderous lunacy.
In a twisted way, we want him down that path. We root for him to become the Joker, after all. And in that sense, it’s hard to feel sympathy for a guy who you know is definitely going to be a homicidal agent of chaos and anarchy. “Is it just me, or is it getting crazier out there?” Arthur says. But it’s a sentiment society already shares. At some point, even you have undoubtedly thought of it. In another line, he says, “Everybody just screams at each other. Nobody’s civil anymore.” Again, in these modern times, I agree. He claims to be non-political, but indirectly starts a revolution against authority and the rich Wall Street guys.
The film heavily borrows from Martin Scorsese’s works portraying insanity, Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, even going so far as casting Robert De Niro as Arthur’s hero talk show host Murray Franklin (who ridicules him as well). But it feels like director Todd Phillips (popular for his The Hangover trilogy) missed the satirical approach of those films to delivering their message. Joker is an anthem for a particular group of people. It asks to be taken seriously as a look into the psyche of an outcast of society, while at the same time glorifying the resulting violent behavior. His final strut as the Joker, where the film really picks up, is so captivating that you’re finally glad his transformation is complete.
For what it’s worth, Joker is a well-shot cinematic eye candy. Phillips set the film in a Gotham City that’s pretty much seedy 1980’s New York. It’s the perfect setting for shaping up eventual criminals and mass murderers, which what the Joker truly is.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
The Talking Screen 