Joker (2019, Todd Phillips)

In a world now heavily saturated by comic book movies, most notably those of the massively CGI'd MCU, it's a breath of fresh air to have a stripped down character study take (like the amazing Logan) and a stand alone film on arguably the most iconic villain in comic history.

Yes, I am one that agrees with the controversial comments of Scorsese and Coppola, yet that's not to say I dislike them all, I was quite the fan of the first Iron Man, The Winter Solder, Thor: Ragnarock and Deadpool. Personally, I'm just fed up of being bombarded by CGI action at the cinemas (or as Scorsese rightly puts it "theme park movies"), it's quite nauseating to be honest.

The setting of this film is an uneasy one, it's dark, broody and oppressive and the City of Gotham itself plays a major role here with its claustrophobic atmosphere, dirty streets with the garbage strikes and gloomy lighting.  From the opening retro Warner Bros. logo, we're immediately sucked back in time to the violent year of 1981, giving off that instantaneous gritty feeling. We're immediately introduced to our protagonist Arthur Fleck, who's holding up a street sign for clowns for hire and is suddenly jumped and beaten by kids and left in an alley where he appears to be pondering on his life. It's as though Arthur is telling us: Welcome to my world, this is just another day!

To say that Arthur is struggling in life is an under-statement like no other, he is beaten in the streets numerous times, looses his job, lives with his sick mother, unable to approach women, has a laughing condition (brilliant idea), is a struggling stand-up comic and has nothing but negative thoughts. So... issues. But what makes it worse is that he is let down by everyone around him, his mother (who is also mentally unstable), his co-worker rats him out, his social worker (the system) tells him this is our last session due to budget cuts and just pushes him aside and even his idol TV host Murray Franklin played by Robert De Niro (in his opposite role of The King of Comedy) plays a video of his comedy routine only to take the piss.

Joaquin Phoenix performance here as Arthur Fleck is nothing short of brilliant, he sheds new light on the Joker's character that we've never truly witnessed on silver screen. He has the perfect body language and facial expressions which he acts with out saying much, not to mention his amazingly haunting laugh. Similar to De Niro's portrayal in Taxi Driver (one of my absolute favourite films) we witness the 'sewer' he is expected to live in and the progression from a punching bag individual to (what he believes is) a hero transformation.

This is where the outcry is coming from and critics have not been exactly tame in their objection for the film's violence and I don't really understand it. Their claim is not that the film itself is ultra violent but that it condones violence and make us feel very uneasy and even sets off a sympathetic vibe towards the character and his actions, believing that some movie goers will look at this character as a true hero.  The real reason why this film is being severely dumped on by the media and most critics is because it is the media and today's system that IS the enemy in the film, which makes the film "dangerous".  Well, only in America.

We even get little hints in the film such as the elite society (including a trump like Thomas Wayne) going to a posh screening of Charlie Chaplin's film Modern Times. It's safe to say they miss the irony of this completely as well as the point of this film (as time progresses along with the growing industry and technology, the system begins to push aside the little people and they are left to fend for themselves).  Meanwhile, outside this screening, the blue collar crowd is brewing and waiting for their moment, or their leader... it's quite unsettling.

What the film does beautifully is not condoning violence, but makes us understand where this character is coming from, he is deeply troubled and is constantly being hit at by the system and rather than continue on like this as an invisible individual, he decides to embrace it full on and hit back hard with a smile. The film is not taking sides, it's just simply showing us the roots of the transition of the insane Joker.

This however is not the first film to have this sort of vibe, we obviously have Scorsese's masterpiece Taxi Driver that is said to have inspired the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer which makes this film seem tame in comparison, Natural Born Killers (which also brings in the media into perspective) and numerous others. Not to mention the obvious fact that this film portrays the origins of the psychological troubles of the fucking Joker, what do you expect?

My only issue with the film is that it's possibly too influenced by Scorsese as though attempting a borderline remake of Taxi Driver with elements changed to suit the Joker material. Even using a similar approach of The King of Comedy replacing kidnapping with violence.

It's a difficult approach to say the least to even attempt a legitimate origin story in a realistic world. Not to mention that of a comic book villain who has famously stated (most notably in the Alan Moore comic, The Killing Joke) "If I’m going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!". Which leads us to believe, does all that happens in this film really happen? Is this a trustworthy narrator?

It must also be said that we see a transition not only from Arthur, but from the director himself Todd Philips, who has gone from making films like Road Trip, Old School and the Hangover films to the broodiest and most character driven comic book film ever put to screen, possibly (and hopefully) changing the game.

Rating: A

Click here for the trailer