Joker (2019) Review

by Jared Kluttz

Joker delves deep into the life of Arthur Fleck and his transformation into the Joker with this new and different interpretation of the character. Warning for very minor spoilers ahead.

Preface

Firstly, if you're expecting a flashy comic book movie with tons of action, this movie is not it. Joker is so different from any other comic-based movie that I don't even consider it a comic book movie. It's more of a character study than anything else. In the early stages of the movie, we see a day in the life of Arthur Fleck, a fairly regular guy with a few unsettling quirks. He's a timid man who gets hurt by anyone who has the chance to do so, whether physically or emotionally, and the film does an excellent job of making you really feel bad for the man, despite knowing he will do some terrible things down the road. The iconic Joker laugh in this movie is treated as a mental disorder that he can't control. He laughs hysterically in inappropriate situations by no fault of his own and people are obviously disturbed by it. I thought this was a genius way to integrate a big part the character into Arthur Fleck pre Joker. Moreover, it's an accurate commentary on how we often treat people with mental disabilities in today's society. We prefer to reject them and turn a blind eye rather than accept them and offer help, a point that this movie makes more than once. This is only one of the themes explored in this film. Many different problems with society are shown throughout the movie. Scene by scene, we see what Arthur's ambitions and struggles are, delving into his character, as different realizations, hardships, and choices slowly transform him into the villain we all recognize. It's a very different interpretation of the Joker than other films, not only because this is the first time we've seen the man before he was the Joker on the big screen, but we see what makes him tick, why he is inspired to do the things he does, as well as several changes to the character that honestly surprised me when seeing them, all without the presence of Batman. 

Positives

This movie is two hours long, but it doesn't feel that long. Despite the lack of action, there was not a moment when watching this where I zoned out or became distracted or bored. It was very suspense and drama heavy and was paced excellently. The plot moves on at a steady and believable pace. Additionally, the tone was mostly consistent throughout the film. Also, this film had a lot of interesting and clever symbolism. There are scenes in the movie that further emphasize aspects and changes in the character in smart and artistic ways. For example, there are two instances in this movie where we see a depressed Arthur walking up a set of stairs, symbolizing all of these different things building to his eventual transformation. In the third act, the Joker walks down these same stairs and dances gleefully, as shown in the trailer, symbolizing his descent into madness as well as showing that as Arthur, he was depressed, but as the Joker, he is happy for once in his life, which is one of the reasons he becomes the Joker. There's lots of other things and I'm sure I didn't catch all of them, but the ones I caught were executed very well. The cinematography in this movie is fantastic. There are several great shots of the Joker silhouetted in lights, intimidating low angle shots of Arthur, panning and tracking shots of the impressive and graffitied Gotham, as well as an interesting and different color palette. They played down the traditional green and purple and played more with oranges, reds, and dark blues, and it worked really well. The score/soundtrack is also fantastic and used appropriately. There are several great moments in the movie where the score is extremely prominent and intense and adds so much tension to an already tense scene. There are also some nice scenes where a Frank Sinatra song or another older song will play over a truly unsettling event unfolding, and it works so well. Of course, it's impossible to talk about this film without discussing the performance of Joaquin Phoenix, and to put it simply he knocks it out of the park. His laugh in its context works so well. With it being a condition he can't control, you can see and hear the pain in him while he's laughing hysterically. It's super impressive, powerful, and believable. His mannerisms and the way he moves are played excellently by Phoenix. Past actors who have played the Joker haven't placed a lot of importance on the way he does simple things such as walk or run, but Phoenix does and it adds so much. They're uniquely his and it felt so natural to the character yet unnatural for any other regular person. When seeing the way he moved, I immediately thought, "Yep, that's the Joker." His lines are always delivered with purpose and the scenes where he unleashed his anger are acted amazingly. What's possibly the most impressive about Joaquin Phoenix's performance is his ability to make the audience feel uncomfortable. So much of what he did and his performance of it and the delivery of his lines just made me feel so uncomfortable and on edge the whole time he was on screen. Combined with a tension building score and a Hitchcock-esque method of directing murder scenes, this movie should make you feel uncomfortable. The unsettling feeling I got while watching this movie added a lot to the experience, because while I did feel terribly bad for Arthur, I was scared of the him at the same time. It made me think, "If this man were a real person I saw on the street, I would probably label him as a freak,", revisiting the point I discussed previously about mental illness in today's culture. Finally, the climax of the film is awesome. There's some really cool and powerful imagery and the dialogue, tone, and tension are spot on and at their peak. There's even an integration of some Batman lore in the end, and it does it justice.

Negatives

There aren't a lot of negative aspects of this film to me. I didn't have many problems, and the problems I do aren't major. One negative aspect of this movie is that the characters besides Arthur Fleck are pretty standard, with the strongest side character probably being Thomas Wayne. The side characters tend to lack depth, but their point is just to interact with Arthur and be forces in his life that lead to his transition into the Joker. The movie is a character study of the Joker, so it makes sense that the other characters would be thin in comparison, but it may be something you'll have a bigger problem with when watching. There's also a scene in this movie that makes no sense at all. I'm sure Todd Phillips had some reason for putting it in there, but it was kind of weird and felt pointless; it just happened and it didn't go anywhere, it just cut to the next scene. There was also one scene directly after a brutal murder scene that seems to be comic relief. I don't know if it was intentionally funny or if it was trying to make the audience uncomfortable, but the inclusion of this scene felt a bit tonally awkward given what took place right before it. It was funny and contributed to the growing insanity of the character, but created a problem with the tone. My last minor gripe is that the actor for Bruce Wayne isn't too great. Granted, he doesn't play a big role in the movie, but when a normal child would be scared or sad, Bruce just stands there with a straight face and does nothing. He lacks emotion and looks kind of bored. I guess that falls in line with thin side characters in general, but I found the performance of Bruce the least impressive.

Other thoughts

This movie has a lot ambiguity in it, especially in the ending. The ending leaves a lot up to interpretation and even makes you question the whole movie. This makes for great discussion when talking about the movie and makes it worth watching a second time to see it through a different lens. If you're someone who likes endings to be definitive and not open to interpretation, the ending of Joker might bother you. However, if there was a movie that should have an ambiguous ending like this, it's Joker. The Joker has always been a mysterious character, and origin stories tend to demystify characters, but the open ended conclusion of this film still manages to maintain some of the mystery that makes the Joker so cool.

Consensus

Joker is a must-see for fans of the Joker as well as people who enjoy suspenseful and dramatic films about how killers are made. 

Overall rating: 9/10