The context of the film and the story by director Todd Phillips will change the boundaries of the Batman mythos, offering a heartbreaking and terribly violent march into perhaps darkness. Joker is a dark masterpiece, it is a depressing movie with a captivating lead performance. It is simply hard to put in written words that Joaquin Phoenix could stand in the shadow of the man who has in fact redefined the joker, Heath Ledger. The Fandom will definitely go gaga comparing the two. The film will undoubtedly spark a storm of controversy. Mental health, gun policies, moral crisis of the population, rich and poor inequality – this is the fatal plunge that Joker makes into the conundrum. There has never been a comic book movie remotely this disturbing. Some viewers will be disgusted. The joker takes the genre into crazy new boundaries.
Arthur Fleck, as played by Joaquin Phoenix, is about to have a breakdown. A mentally unstable person living in poverty, brings up a son Arthur Penny who is also sick. He makes money by dressing up as a clown for other people’s pleasure. Even after all those mocking, Arthur doesn’t mind doing his job. He is happy to perform and makes people happy. Arthur too, feels he would like to be a stand-up. For that, it is utterly impossible due to his mental illness. Even in awkward situations, he gets very stressed or has aggressive face to the people, he cannot stop himself from cackling like crazy. Many viewed him as a weirdo. He doesn’t have any friends. Or even a city social worker mandated with helping him.
Gotham City stinks from a garbage strike. Billionaire Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen) is due to run for the office of the Mayor and promise a good wash of the stinking roads. Arthur’s mom has a crush on him. Arthur worships one person, a late-night TV presenter – Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro). A particularly harrowing day at work changes everything for Arthur. He chooses to take a stand against his oppressors who have alarmingly stood for so long. Arthur starts to feel invincible. Perhaps, he will speak to a cute neighbor (Zazzie Beetz) or wait for the current of seething resentment waiting to destroy the boredom of the city languid.
Todd Phillips (The Hangover, War Dogs) is aware of the importance of his setting. Gotham looks like something out of a Martin Scorsese seventies New York City adaptation. That picture includes poverty, drugs, crime, hopelessness and dirt. Arthur is one of those who find themselves in agonizing surroundings for the needy. He shouts in vain in a place where people do not listen to such tender things. He is not a barbaric by nature. The Joker is what has dragged Arthur out of his peace as a man. Todd Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver do not believe there is any other sort of ending to that movie. That is an attitude some would endure that renders the work controversial. There is no one who is every school drop out or all who become criminals accomplishes murder. It is, however, ordinary and a tragedy all in the same sentence, made worse by the presence of firearms. Phillips and Silver have a point in their argument.
When the time comes for awards season, Joaquin Phoenix will be almost unbeatable. He is so captivating in every single scene in Joker. His bony physique, greasy hair and sunken cheeks also play a major role in getting into Arthur Fleck’s skin. The image buyers of course buy the horrible metronomic spasms of Phoenix’s face, his spasmodic laughter, rays rushing across the sea of tears. It is a strenuous, visceral performance which further heightens with the emergence of the Joker. Everything that is shattered within Arthur’s body and psyche flowers into a murderous extrovert. That career peak is this one for Joaquin Phoenix as he has always been one of the most incredible actors in other childhood roles.
Joker is rated R for a reason. There is no question that any child watching the film would have been traumatized. Joker is, however, unlike a superhero, a popcorn film filled with special effects. Indeed, many of the comic book fans themselves would not like the overall vulgarity and gallons of blood. It was a gamble by Warner Bros. and DC to produce a movie based on Joker. The studio and Todd Phillips already have been subjected to a sizeable level of public outrage. Especially if some crazy fan acts out the character to a detrimental extent, such situation could escalate after release. No artistic expression of the people must be restricted by the people, or their acts, and unreasonable fears, with exceptions of a handful. Joker is an interpretation of a character who has been around for the last eighty years. It is a breathtaking perspective; it is a film to be seen at any cost. The commendation for Joaquin Phoenix is not an exaggeration. He is a genuine competition to Heath Ledger for the title of the best Joker ever.
Watch Free Movies on Hurawatch