MOVIE REVIEW: Joker
This film was surrounded in controversy right from the beginning with warnings about how dark and triggering it might be for viewers. For a moment I am going to be a realist, controversy drives intrigue, intrigue drives tickets sales, tickets sales drives opinions, and round the loop, we go.
After viewing the film, I am certainly not going to dismiss the trigger warnings. This film does include themes around a lived experience with mental illness, social isolation, and trauma. I do understand the opinions of many critics and general viewers about this film. Some are stating that it does not fit in the margins of the comic book genre. I disagree with this. Joker was always known to be an unhinged individual. The creatives involved in this film have aimed to tease out what creates the individual who lives in this experience. That is not to say everyone who has been in this type of lived experience will turn out to be a Joker type character, and I do understand this opinion that has been raised by many. However, I think this film can be what you want it to be. That is ART. It is subjective. However, it does provoke some serious reflection about society and stigmas.
So, let us jump into the review. Joaquin Phoenix, who plays Authur Fleck, has committed to complete emotional empathy with this character. There is a sincerity about Authur that viewers cannot pull away from in this film. We are transported back to Gotham City when work is whatever you can find. Arthur is a street clown and wannabe stand-up comic who is bullied to the edge of an emotional breakdown and is hard-pressed to find a proper meaning to the world in which he lives. He keeps a notebook of jokes, a safeguard to not forget his material. Still, when he is given a chance to perform on stage his condition (Pseudobulbar Affect or PBA) uncontrollable laughter plagues his performance. We do meet the Wayne family and Alfred the butler and the pieces fall into place as an origin story for those who might be new to the DC comic arena.
There is so much to admire about this film, alienation, social inequality, the lived experience with mental illness, the idea of how trauma might manifest in an individual, the decline of social and economic equality (rich and poor) the rise of one man’s radical and yet realist view to some degree. I could go on.
When you are different or unique society does not have a place for you to fit neatly into. This separation gives rise to social isolation. The casting in this film is as close to perfect as you will get. Frances Connroy who play Authur’s mother, commits to the role beautifully. I liked everything about this film.
I could say this film is dark or edgy. But I would much prefer to call it an artistically driven film that captures one individual’s unique world that originates from the comic book universe. And it is worth saying if you do not like to watch anything visiting the manifesting issues of mental health then perhaps give this one a miss. If you are willing to watch a film that is within the comic universe and artistic in its portrayal of a villain then do see this one. I have given it 5 out of 5 stars!
So until next time… “Be brave and bold in your chosen field of creativity. And never be afraid to explore new techniques”
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