A Masterpiece of a Most Hilarious Manner: 'Joker' Brings Smiles Through His Torment
Three men walk into a subway, obviously drunk and under the impression they are much more important than their surroundings. These are the type of people who shamelessly flaunt their wealth on the unsuspecting and weak. These are the people that refer to the average hard-working men and women of Gotham City as "clowns" and "joker." This is unfortunate world in which Joaquin Phoenix's character Arthur Fleck resides.
Joker is a movie based on the 1980s pre-Batman era of Gotham City, and depicts a clear story of wealth inequality. The seemingly simple-minded Arthur works a dead-end job and is plagued with a chronic laughing condition -- a condition that obviously causes him great pain and inconvenience -- as he dreams of fame as a stand-up comedian. His dream, however, may be far-fetched, as unfortunately he isn't very funny.
While there are clear points of reference to other known DC works (such Alan Moore's seminal comic, The Killing Joke), this movie seems to be a completely different origin story for The Joker, one that follows Arthur's decent into madness in an almost humanizing way.
Even before the film's Oct. 4 premiere, socially-cautious personalities online and on television were already fearing the effects that a movie like Joker could have on the impressionable and emotionally damaged. However, much like with video games and Marilyn Manson, the argument that violent entertainment causes real-world violence has been widely debunked.
Joker is an emotional roller coaster, mind you, with a completely wacky, overly dramatic twist, but it's brilliant. Joaquin Phoenix gives an Oscar-worthy performance of a man lost in his own world, following the beat of an off-timed drummer, deluding himself into believing in a grandiose universe that may finally be going his way. His tormenters, seemingly emotionless to his physical and mental distress, paint a vivid picture that Fleck's world is a tragedy, a tragedy that Fleck faces with humor and a smile on his face.
The third act, as a far as movies go, is a cinematic marvel. The mise-en-scène and cinematography is encapsulating, and the plot twist will without a doubt infuriate a few Batman purists, but it is so well interwoven into Fleck's madness that many may accept it as the new normal. The subtle calls to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, and Heath Ledger's Joker were also a nice touch. The casting of the film was unexpected yet effective, as Phoenix hasn't been typecast as the standard villain, much like Robert De Niro's Murray Franklin isn't a wonky or silly harbinger of a late night television host.
Todd Phillips creates a perfect world for a bonafide mad man to thrive and grow into his role as one of the most polarizing villains in entertainment history. There is never a singular moment in which you do not know that the only person in this story who matters is the maniac with the gun. Characters are set up solely for the growth of this mania, but in the grand scheme of things everything's focused exactly were Joker wants it to be.