Controversy has followed Todd Phillip’s JOKER and despite the calls of some to have screenings cancelled or reports of people walking out in viewings, it still broke box office records in the United States.
Films are subjective, the opinions that you will form about them will be based on your personal views, the feelings that will be brought out from you, most likely based on, or influenced by how you were brought up. There are a great many factors to consider about whether a film was good or bad, or in this case, whether the violent nature was necessary.
This is just a venue for my thoughts about the film, take it as you will.
I rather liked Joker, I was in awe, I was enthralled, I was disgusted, I was worried. I was frightened.
I was in awe of Joaquin Phoenix’s performance, I could not help but see glimpses of Heath Ledger, the art of Alex Ross and I could hear the cackle of Mark Hamill. Its like, Phoenix took all of these elements and with his superb acting brought to life an iconic villain on the big screen.
His performance alone deserves all the praises and accolades!
I was worried, disgusted and frightened at how the film basically took a mirror and showed you how dark, uncaring, and apathetic society can be. It seems as though the vat of toxic chemicals which was the Joker’s origins in other iterations has now become a toxic society, who will alienate you and push you to the limits. And yet, more than just society being cruel and apathetic is that Arthur Fleck, (the man before he became the Joker) was also suffering from abuse and Mental Illness. In the film, he was getting help from government funded programs but in the course of the movie, these funds were cut. Its a bit of a shock as in real life Philheath, Department of Education budgets have recently been slashed in favor of other more dubious avenues-“Intel Fund”.
More of a character study, a social commentary and an intense look into Mental Health, “JOKER” is not your typical origin story. Rather, we bear witness to the transformation and descent into madness of a man who was not able to get the help he needed. Who was shunned and turned away by everyone. Who was kicked and beaten down even as he on the ground.
It was an intense two hours of a gritty Gotham City that has abandoned its citizens and a society that has turned into cruelty and apathy. And with Mental Illness creeping in, these are what creates the JOKER and the chaos and anarchy he symbolizes and brings with him.
My only tiny qualm about the film, and I’m just being nitpicky here, is that I would have preferred for it to end in a different scene than the one in the cut of the film. Perhaps the subsequent scene could have been done as a post credit scene, but I think DC is steering away from that.
Praises also to the gritty 80s production design. Gotham was intentionally shown as an ugly city, filled to the brim with trash and vandal, another reflection of how far its citizens has come.
You leave the cinema in a daze, frightened at how dark and grim society can be, you also can’t help but feel captivated with Phoenix’s performance. (9/10).