Joker 2019
Joker isn’t a superhero movie. It isn’t really a villain movie. It is a movie about a seriously messed up person who turns to violence after constantly being abused. So they took this really demented and unpredictable role and gave it to the most demented and unpredictable actor they could find, Joaquin Phoenix. And Phoenix embraces that role as you might expect, becoming uncomfortably weird and psychotic. This is not Batman. And I think the surprising thing is this doesn’t even really fit into the Joker character we know from Batman. It could almost be as much about the crazy person who dressed up as Joker and shot up a theater. As such, it isn’t really enjoyable, even while it is amazing to watch. Gotham is New York City around 1980 with garbage strikes and a very seedy Times Square representing the entire city. The rich people are jerks (really almost everyone is) and the people at the bottom are about to boil over.This movie is dark and disturbed, but I’m not sure if that necessarily means it is good. Joaquin Phoenix does an amazing job with the character, losing 50 pounds for the role and going as deeply off as he has ever done, which I’m sure he loved. But do you really want to see him this way? Or anyone? The director, Todd Philips, said this isn’t the Joker you know from the comics, but just one possible Joker. Instead of being transformed by an industrial accident, he plays a released mental patient who has become a clown (definitely of the scary variety). The reason the movie can be so effective is it really goes in some new places. Phoenix deserves his Oscar nomination and maybe Philips deserves his nomination for writing and directing Phoenix like this. The question remains how much do you want to see about this tortured mental patient who becomes a mass murderer? It is definitely an accomplishment, but kind of also awful. I can’t give it the highest marks, but it is also very well executed. I can see how some people might think of this like Taxi Driver (with a little King of Comedy since the guy who becomes Joker at first wants to be a comedian) and deserving of accolades and others might just hate it. I can see both sides of that, but still feel like I need to be able to enjoy a movie for it to get an A, so maybe just a B+.
Written: 19 Jan 2020
Owned on: Digital