On Saturday I went to see the new Joker movie, staring Joaquin Phoenix, which has already received outstanding reviews stating it's iconic, grim, feral and and utterly beautiful, not to mention it is now the highest grossing October release in history, beating the release of Venom last year. I have a few mixed feeling about the Joker, it was without a doubt an incredible film, an incredible story and incredible acting and portrayal of the Joker himself. Spoilers ahead so If you have yet to see this film, come back once you've seen it so not to spoil it for yourself.
Set in 1981 Gotham, we see Arthur Fleck struggle through life as an entertainment clown and a wannabe comedian, living in a small apartment with his elderly mentally ill mother. Giant rats rampage through the city, there's trash piled up on every corner and Arthur passes by, but is being beaten up, mocked, laughed at and judged by most people that do cross his path. Throughout the duration of the film we see the character decline, becoming angrier, more self destructive and he's pushed over the edge. He's pushed so far over the edge that he doesn't care any more, killing his friends, his own mother and planning out his mad public display on television, where he shoots the talk show host. He ultimately caused the riots which led to the well known scene where Bruce Waynes parents are shot in the alley; there are lots of little Easter eggs like that, we even see Alfred at the gates of Wayne Manor, which is the only thing that makes this story seem familiar to the audience.
My first thought coming away from it was that it was dark, it was awfully dark, it had some really messed up moments, and some parts I even found quite hard to watch, but it was too good not to watch. Hearing his horrible cackles of pain was disturbing. I came away feeling sympathy for the Joker, which is not a feeling I thought I'd ever have for the iconic comic book villain, but we got to see a side of the story that we've never seen before, a side that's never quite been documented or published to the world, always leaving his backstory open to interpretation. It massively stands out from any other movie in the DC universe; director Todd Phillips has completely rewritten this icon and much loved comic book villain and made him human, a relatable human at that. In this version of the Jokers life, he's not the one that's the villain, he's a victim that's been messed around by society so much that it drove him mad, so much so that it's almost his right to get revenge back on all of his abusers.
It was an outstanding and unforgettable movie, but exhausting to watch, you'd have to be in a really good mental state to feel this way when watching it. I loved every second of it but I'm in no rush to sit and watch it again any time soon; it was well worth the watch but you definitely need to watch something cheerful afterwards to take your mind off of the sinister reality of the movie. While some critiques have said the film is too realistic, too serious and uncartoony, I think that is exactly the point of this Joker, he's not someone to be laughed at, he's not a quirky character with no motive, he's not evil and powerful like Heath Ledgers Joker, but he is real. This is how real life villains are made.
Let me know if you've seen this amazing film yet and let me know your thoughts in the comments.
India X