Joker

Sigh... so this is a film...

So before I get into the film, I will mention that I almost didn't go and see it because I'm already tired of the "conversation" around this film. Is it an incel rallying cry? Is it a comic book film? Is comedy dead because of PC culture? Is there going to be a mass shooting inspired by this film? What inspires mass shootings? And while some of this stuff is important to examine and the other stuff is just Todd Phillips whining that Hangover 3 wasn't as popular as the first one, it kind of tarnished going into this film with a clean slate. I had a bias and its evident by the end of this review that it might still be there.  But I'm going to try and knock this review out without spoilers or getting into the pop culture aspect of the film in the moment for the time being, because honestly, I'm just tired. It feels like this movie has been out for years and it only came out for the general public this weekend.

Joker follows the story of Arthur Fleck (played by Joaquin Phoenix). A lonely, frankly mentally unstable man living in Gotham who is working paycheck to paycheck as a clown to help take care of his mother (played by Frances Conroy).

Arthur wants to be a stand up comedian and has been told his entire like that his purpose is to bring joy to the world. However, Arthur just continues to be pushed around, beaten up (most of the time literally) until he finally snaps and starts a spiral of dark and violent behavior.

The movie essentially follows his decent into madness as he goes from being immensely unsure of himself, to becoming more and more deranged until he is the clown prince of crime, the Joker.

Sorta...

The interesting thing is that despite some really interesting and not super over the top tie-ins to the Batman universe, this doesn't actually feel like a Joker film as much as it just seems like Joaquin Phoenix present Clown Killer the movie. And on top of the overall themes and unsettling-ness of this film, that weird balance of being a DC movie and yet not is really thought provoking.

In many ways, it almost feels like Warner Brothers was producing a serial killer movie inspired by Martin Scorsese's King of Comedy and Taxi Driver, they hired Joaquin Phoenix, and then once he was on contract they said, "Psych! Its a Joker film!"

But the first very important thing to really discuss is the performance of Joaquin Phoenix.

I'll be upfront, I don't think I have a great sample size of Phoenix's work. I know he's a weird dude in general and he's very particular about the roles he takes and he does a really amazing job with Arthur Fleck in this movie.

This guy is amazingly unsettling and yet you're invested in his journey from the get go. While he's not really relateable, I bet if I re-watched this I could see points where if things were different he'd be taken care of or be able to get healthier. But for one reason or another, it just ends up being a cycle of bad things happening to him and his mind mending itself to reconcile these horrible things and leading him to his transformation into Joker.

For the most part, he's a really good Joker. The great thing about that iconic character is that his origin story is so muddled in mystery that something like this works as an interpretation. It doesn't take away from the character at all, it just exists and is a really good interpretation. They are saying this film is a standalone film and won't connect to the larger DC universe and I'm totally fine with that even with such a dynamite performance by Phoenix.

The thing I liked most was despite the fact that this movie doesn't always feel like a Joker movie, there are still quintessential moments in the film that I was thinking to myself, that captures the essence of The Joker and they were great scenes.

And aside from the send up to the character, Phoenix just creeps me out hard in this film, probably more when he's not wearing the make up. I won't really give any context to this, but there's a point in the film where he's listening to someone talk and he's just smiling in this incredibly unsettling way, and it just sent chills down my spine because it was so effective.

I think the one critique I had is something totally out of Phoenix's control, and its his voice.

Phoenix doesn't really have a commanding voice at all and it works towards him being Arthur Fleck really well, but when he's the Joker, everything from his mannerisms, to his actions, to the performance is spot on, but I would have liked a little bit more of a commanding voice. It's a petty critique that really shouldn't take away from the performance at all, but it was one thing I noticed that pulled me back a little. But at the same time, it goes well with the film because again, it feels less like a Joker film and more like Arthur Fleck: A Clown's Personal Journey to Murder.

I think one thing of note is that because this is so focused on Arthur Fleck's character, everyone else kind of takes a back seat and you don't get much of a chance to really get to know any of them in any way that's meaningful.

You've got some really great actors in this film, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Marc Maron, and Brian Tyree Henry to name a few, and they don't really do a whole lot in this film.

And the worst part is, what they do have, they absolutely nail it. I wanted to know more about Robert De Niro's talk show host. I wanted to know more about Brett Cullen as Thomas Wayne. But I guess that would have sacrificed more time on this personal decent into madness story.

I really like the inspiration taken by this film from movies like Taxi Driver and King of Comedy. One thing I was worried about was that this movie was just going to be a covert remake of those films but with the Joker. And while there are similarities, the end result is a pretty good mixture of a movie about a mentally ill man screwed by the system, with influences from those Scorsese films, but not enough to feel like they're being ripped off, and some good Joker mythology.

Do I have other issues with the film?

Honestly, I'm still digesting it.

It's an unsettling movie but that was to be expected. If you didn't expect this movie to be unsettling you don't know who the Joker is, nor do you know Joaquin Phoenix's reputation, nor did you watch the trailer...

The movie is violent but I don't believe violent movies inspire violence. Also, more focused on this personal journey so there really isn't much action overall. It's a very similar conversation to Taxi Driver and how I mentioned that that movie was problematic. This is a problematic movie but it's not like its this one of a kind film with so much violence its going to break its audience.

I love how the movie takes you on Arthur Fleck's journey, questioning what is real, what is right, and how do we treat people we think are off or odd.

I don't think its as mind blowing a film as some people are saying it is, but I'd be shocked if it isn't nominated for something come award time. Its a mind bender but still, a day later I can't really decide how much I liked it.

As you can tell there's just a lot of thoughts constructed from this film and I see that both as a good and a bad thing. It's good that this movie makes me think, but just because its a thinker doesn't automatically mean it has a lot to think about seriously.

I think my recommendation is for you to see the movie for yourself, especially if you like unsettling movies like Taxi Driver or King of Comedy. You can come up with your own interpretation and impression and feel free to let me know.

I think the thing I keep coming back to is just the clout of exhaustion I have towards this movie. As much as I know I'm going to revisit this movie in the future, I have no interest in seeing it in theaters again and want to wait a long time before I re-watch it.

I'm trying to figure out if I'm exhausted more by the pop culture zeitgeist around this film and how I think its probably more toxic than the movie, or if I am just off put by the movie itself.

I'll revisit this movie in the future and probably do another review with full spoilers and full thoughts, but for the time being, what did you think? How did Joker sit with you? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @MovieSymposium as well as send me your requests for films I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

Thanks for Reading!