Joker

Rated R

2 hours 2 minutes

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro

This movie belongs to Joaquin Phoenix.  No one else in this film really matters.  They are all characters who just enhance Joaquin Phoenix’s character as Arthur Fleck and his counterpart, Joker.

I wasn’t sure where all the hype for this movie came from as I was watching it.  It starts out slow.  It shows a crumpled up guy who has nothing going for him, living with his mom in an apartment and playing a clown for money.  Arthur is that type of person that you would cross to the other side of the sidewalk because he was just odd and you wanted nothing to do with him.  But we begin to see glimpses of Joker in-between the layers of Arthur.  We see this man, who is already lost in society, grab hold of the only thing he can find . . .the manic part of him.  As the film ramps up, it becomes an insane journey into the depths of Arthurs mind and we begin to see the internal transformation of Arthur into the bigger than life, Joker.

I’ve read the write-ups about this movie.  Maybe the writer wanted to show the world of mental illness.  Maybe he wanted to make a statement about society and how we treat each other.  Maybe he wanted to make a film about the lack of help for people who wander the streets.  It could be all that but it’s also the best film out there about Batman’s nemesis.  The story takes place in Gotham City with a society that is out of control.  We see Thomas Wayne as the mayor of the city.  We are introduced to his son, Bruce.  And we also see his son, Bruce Wayne, watch his parent’s die at the hands of a clown.

Joaquin Phoenix stole the show.  He is the Joker.  He was a man who didn’t feel like he was anybody.  That didn’t feel like he belonged.  He took the life of 3 men who was beating him up because he had enough of being trampled on.  We see the Joker emerge into Arthur and become someone who finally felt like he was someone.

The Joker lives up to the comics of how we know him so kudos to Joaquin for an Oscar worthy performance.  It was a superb movie.

Library Link: Joker (DVD)