Forever alone in a crowd, failed comedian Arthur Fleck seeks connection as he walks the streets of Gotham City. Arthur wears two masks -- the one he paints for his day job as a clown, and the guise he projects in a futile attempt to feel like he's part of the world around him. Isolated, bullied and disregarded by society, Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as The Joker.
The Joker is one of the most well-known movie characters in the world, most people will know him as a crazy villain who the late Heath Ledger played in The Dark Knight. This time though, Joaquin Phoenix plays the character in one of the most highly anticipated films of the year, what’s interesting about this film is that it purely focuses on the Joker, there’s no Batman (kinda), no Harley Quinn and definitely no fights - but what this film does have is a really in-depth story which focuses on Arthur’s story and a lot of breathtaking scenes which make the film feel amazing. Without giving too much away too early on, I’ll get onto the main question. Was this film a bad joke or does it end up being a funny one? Here are my thoughts.
All good films start off by gripping us right from the beginning and not letting us go until after the credits, ‘Joker’ does this perfectly in its own strange way - the choice to implement a voiceover which describes how run down Gotham is and how unhappy it’s people are whilst Arthur puts on his makeup is great, simply because it builds up his character really well and instead of jumping into his criminal actions, the film slowly builds up the anger from residents which allows us to have a really smooth transition from normal life of Arthur to him ultimately becoming the Joker we know at the end. This is really beneficial and creates an important and useful theme right at the very beginning of the film which helps to really make the characters feel intense and multidimensional, seeing Arthur dressed up as a clown, getting his sign stolen and then beaten up gives us a strong message that he has a very sad and depressed life very early on in the film, this is actually really good because it helps to give us sympathy for his character, throughout the film we want him to win and even at the end as he becomes more villainous, it still feels satisfying to see him happy and appreciated because of how in-depth the film goes to show him as an outcast. These types of scenes (which are very prominent early on) not only feel really powerful for us to see how badly society treats him but they are a clever way of actually getting us to essentially be in his little bubble which immerses us in his world - making his character feel really exciting and entertaining. His character feels incredibly immersive and complex though, simple things like his uncontrollable laughing fits, and his violent rages are really helpful in showing how crazy and deranged his character is. A great element which helps to support this is the dialogue - this film is full of powerful lines like “is it just me or is everyone getting crazy out there?” Which really help to establish Arthur as a strange and clearly challenged individual, we all know that the Joker is crazy but the way in which this film shows that personality to us before he becomes criminal is just amazing, because seeing how he visions things like himself being on the Murray Franklin show and being praised, as well as his really immersive and actually quite believable - (I didn’t figure out that she barely knew him and it was all in his mind until after the film) relationship with the woman in his flat. Scenes like these help to show Arthur as a really troubled and kinda messed up individual and the way in which this is related to us, as he gets worse and worse throughout the film until he kills 3 men and creates the climax of the film - is expertly done to really allow us to understand how his life has affected his personality and characteristics. Throughout the film there is a clear rise in his ‘madness’ and it is really exciting and interesting to see that, scenes like where he is told off for stealing the sign and when he is fired all create a sort of upward trend in his rage and inner psycho - it’s elements to the film like this which make him such an immersive and exciting character. I could sit here for a long time and write about all of the great scenes which help to input into his crazy character but I’d here here all day, to summarise them all, the way in which he is represented really cleverly allows us to have sympathy for him, all whilst witnessing a variety of bad events for him which makes sure that even after he has killed numerous people, we still want him to be applauded and loved by the people of Gotham. The Joker is incredibly complex here, but I love how the film actually simplified it down so that it’s really easy and straightforward to follow how he character changes during the events of the film, and these emotions feel really powerful - seeing Murray Franklin roast Arthur on his TV show whilst his mother was in hospital dying really felt emotional, because he could literally see the emotion in his facial expressions - this wasn’t the only scene like this though. There were plenty where the emotions of the characters felt really realistic and that ours matched theirs on the screen, even the creepy ness surrounding Arthur finding his father seemed to be well relayed to us. I really like how basically all of the characters felt like they were sidetracked, they were quiet sure, but they were prominent enough just to give us that little bit of normalness to compare Arthur to and to emphasise his mental issues. Overall though, I loved how well detailed characters felt, and how throughout the film it definitely felt like Joker transitioned into the character in the modern films, like during the TV interview where he admits he killed the men and then proceed to complain about society and shoot Murray on live TV - this definitely felt like something from Ledger’s Joker and as the film proceeded - this was a very clever feature implemented. Like I mentioned though, the characters were amazing here and some of the most realistic I’ve seen, I was especially impressed with Joaquin Phoenix, not only did it feel like he was a genuinely disturbed man but he really felt like the Joker - in the way he spoke and acted and really felt like an absolutely amazing character here. Every once in awhile a movie comes, that truly makes an impact. Joaquin's performance and scenography in all it's brilliance just felt amazing, not often do you have an actor who just feels so well made for their role, Phoenix here does an insanely good job at playing the Joker, so good it’s extremely difficult to see anyone topping him in the future - if he doesn’t win an Oscar for this then I’m sure people will riot, because we can really feel that he has transformed himself into the role and that’s 99% of what makes this film so insanely good.
Not only was the acting and character set amazing but so was the construction and overall feel of the film. Not only did the film feel really immersive but it was also so enjoyable to witness the changes in the characters and the environment of the film too - it just made watching this film an absolute pleasure. As well as this though, it was genuinely really easy to follow and understand, don’t get me wrong, a lot happened which was complex but for some reason, it just felt really well made and really fun and easy to follow the events of the film through. Usually with films like this, there are debates as to what various scenes and things meant, but I genuinely had no confusion or queries about the film during and after watching it - the way it was constructed just felt special. I also love how the whole entire film just felt quite cold, it’s hard to put a finger on exactly what it was but it just felt right for a Joker film - which means that it’s really enjoyable for fans of the series and general moviegoers alike because regardless of who we are, the structure and feel of the film really helps to encapsulate ourselves in Arthur’s world, and the film in general. A key theme to the film which I felt was especially important to mention was the link to mental health, I think this is what helped Arthur to really help people relate to his character and to really speak to the audience, seeing how disturbed and depressed he feels means that even though he is a crazy and deranged character, for some people he somewhat feels relatable as an outcast in society who always gets dealt the short straw - that’s part of what makes this film so appealing to lots of people I think. I was also impressed as to how well the film creates a variety of emotions out of a single scene, seeing Arthur kill his friend and then letting his dwarf friend leave, only to find he isn’t tall enough to open the door really plays with our emotions, because we see Arthur brutally murder his friend by stabbing him, and then laughing and joking with Gary about his size - it shouldn’t be right to mix two completely different emotions of horror and then laughter but the really good part to this film is that not only does it get away with doing that but it thrives off it and actually allows that mixture of emotions to be one of its best parts. That’s exactly why it feels so well made, every little detail like that feels so well thought out and executed, even seeing the riots at the end and Bruce Wayne’s parents being killed felt really satisfying to see because it just all fits in together so perfectly and helps to tell a story that we didn’t really think we would need to know - but it tells us and it goes further to really show us that it was an amazing and well needed story. The directing and writing is slickly brilliant and the bleak settings and tones are palpable throughout. When this film was over the place was blown away and every audience member was awestruck that they witnessed a film that could still transport them into a character's world and very existence. Believe the hype. This is going to be revered as a transcending masterpiece of cinema. The film definitely wasn’t boring, in fact I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Not action edge of your seat, it was a fear of what he may do or say next edge of your seat. To see this character evolve into what we all know as the #1 villain of Batman was beyond genius and Joaquin Phoenix is a true master at perfecting the art of consuming himself into this character. This movie, the story, the acting, directing, effects, everyone brought their A-game and Joaquin definitely deserves a nod and win for this role. Honestly, I could type for a long time how amazing this film is, but realistically it can only be given justice by seeing it. Even the music in the film just feel so right, the loud instrumentals really help to hype and build-up scenes perfectly and match the emotion of the scenes amazingly, they were subtle but perfectly placed and used to create intended effects.
Genuinely I usually put here an issue or some problems that I had with the film but in all honesty, I couldn’t find anything that I didn’t like. From reading other people’s reviews a common theme is that it finished too quickly. This I 100% disagree with, it finished perfectly because it transitions from this to the other films in the franchise really really well, so by continuing on not only would it not be finishing on a big scene but it would also start to overlap other films, which wouldn’t have gone down well. The film also feels like it meets its purpose by changing our opinions of the character through the storyline, any more scenes may have made the film feel unbalanced. Like I’ve said, I had no problems or issues with the film, hence why I’ve taken a common issue and actually challenged it!!
Overall, I hands down give this film a 10. A perfect score, and the first on my site I’ve given. This film was amazing, not only does Joaquin step into the Joker’s character amazingly well but the whole story is so enjoyable and immersive that it really stays with you after leaving the cinema, as all good films do. As well as this though, even small elements like the audio and the emotional value of the film feel solid, and all of these elements combine together to create one of the best films I’ve ever seen. Can’t put into words how great that was - not only did it pay tribute to Ledger perfectly but it also gave us a story that both Batman fans and moviegoers can appreciate and love. This is the single reason as to why I love films because they give us the excitement and pure joy as this does. In terms of Oscars, there’s been a lot of amazing acting this year but honestly, I think this one's for Joaquin. The physical and mental transformation was intense and beyond anything I've seen for a while, even Rami Malek as Freddie. Would I recommend this film? 100%. If you don’t go to watch this film and you say that you love films then you better have a good excuse, because this is hands down one of the best films of the year, if not the best already. And to miss out on it would be a really big shame, for sure Heath Ledger would be proud of this performance and it is a real credit to him.
Thank you for reading my review, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did watching the film and writing this review, I hope you have a lovely day! If you would like to check out my Official Facebook page where you can see sneak previous and more film insights then please consider checking out the link below!
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