Joker Review
For as high strung and fantastical as comic book movies can be, Joker is boldly realistic and grounds itself in serious confrontational issues that perpetuate the waning yet thick stigma surrounding mental illness. In fact, Joker is so tensely candid about its character’s descent toward insanity, that it forces audiences to question how our own short comings in empathy can unintentionally break people who are naturally susceptible to fall apart.
To me, art exists to guide our trains of thought into a general direction rather than to take us to a specific destination. While not it’s intention, this is a film that will inevitably create controversial feelings of guilt over a character that simultaneously represents the pitfalls of mental health’s stigma as well as modern terrorism. In the film’s defense, I believe Joker doesn’t want to inspire shame or violence, rather, it aims to encourage us to candidly listen to those who feel unheard and to understand how consequently real emotions are for those burdened by mental illness. Joker poses bold questions and it suggests answers that likely won’t sit well with a handful of movie goers.
While watching Joker, I noticed lots of derivative inspiration from Scorsese and American Psycho, but while the latter follows a man who’s insane without reason, Joker deviates as a character study on an unstable mind burdened by real world issues. There’s always a believable impetus for the Joker’s actions, and it’s the realism of his character’s arc that makes the audience rightfully uncomfortable. As with all character studies though, nothing would work without its lead actor, in this case Joaquin Phoenix. The movie’s script is decent, but written to rely on an actor who can visually emote and command the screen. Joaquin Phoenix carries Joker almost entirely alone and breathes intrigue into the viewing experience. On top of that, he adds subtle mannerisms and carries himself in a way that makes this version the Joker feel wholly like Phoenix’s own - a risky and hard earned accomplishment under the shadow of Heath Ledger’s career defining role. Director Todd Phillips also taps into the better side of his creativity and finally shows some growth, ditching his awkward 50/50 mix of drama and comedy (Date Night, War Dogs, Hangover Trilogy) for a far more focused vision.
Joker is an intense experience and will sit very differently for different people. It’s certainly not a perfect film and it’s bound to create short term controversy for its depiction of white male driven violence and mental illness within today’s political climate. As for myself, Joker engaged me and sparked discussion on the topics I hoped it would.
Verdict: “A little fight in you, I like that.” - The Joker, The Dark Knight