'Joker' Review

Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Director; Todd Phillips, Best Actor; Joaquin Phoenix, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Original Score.

Won: Best Actor; Joaquin Phoenix and Best Original Score.

Synopsis: Arthur Fleck struggles to find his way in Gotham's fractured society. A clown-for-hire by day, he aspires to be a stand-up comic.. but finds the joke always seems to be on him. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty, Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as the Joker.

Runtime: 121 minutes

MPAA Rating: R (for strong bloody violence, disturbing behavior, language and brief sexual images)

Who should see it? Adult fans of DC Comics and the Joker.

Directed by Todd Phillips with a screenplay from Phillips and Scott Silver, Joker is a standalone film removed from the baggage of a shared cinematic universe. Audiences should prepare themselves for an unsettling, artistic character piece about DC Comics' preeminent villain. While not necessarily a faithful iteration, the representation of Joker put forth by Phillips and Phoenix encapsulates the character's essence to a tee. Arthur lashes out with no particular ideology in mind, choosing to instead relish in the ensuing chaos he's caused. There's no rhyme or reason to his actions. He's crazy. Drawing inspiration from the work of Martin Scorsese (notably Taxi Driver & The King of Comedy), Joker depicts a troubled individual surrendering to his darkest impulses and retaliating against society.

For the past few months, Joker has been a hot topic of conversation as many speculated whether the film might incite real-world violence or not. Frankly, I find this controversy to be absurd and grossly overblown. If anything, the media coverage over the controversy is more likely to inspire acts of violence than the movie itself. Phillips doesn't glorify Arthur's disturbing behavior in the slightest and makes it very clear that he is unhinged. Not to mention, onscreen violence and mentally ill protagonists are nothing new for Hollywood. With that said, I understand this isn't a film for everyone. The violence and subject matter will undoubtedly add to its polarizing reception among other things. 

However, I was riveted and spellbound by an increasingly twisted turn of events. Evocative imagery from cinematographer Lawrence Sher coupled with Hildur Guðnadóttir's nerve-wracking musical score and Mark Friedberg's grungy production design forms an enticing and dread-inducing atmosphere. That maddening sensation festers in a slow-burn leading towards the film's inevitable chaotic conclusion, ideally embodying the Clown Prince of Crime's manic mental state. All the while, Arthur's status as an unreliable narrator further contributed to the insanity.

The Joker is a notoriously challenging role which has enabled all-time great performances and a few not so memorable ones, but Joaquin Phoenix proved to be well up to the task as he commands the screen for the film's entire two-hour duration. His portrayal's not only mentally and psychologically taxing, but physically transformative as well. An emaciated and unhinged Phoenix skillfully contrasts Arthur's sinister nature and naivety to match the profile of a potential serial killer. Phoenix's intensity lends a layer of realism to the role that makes his incarnation all the more frightening when all is said and done. Scattered amongst the supporting cast, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, and Brian Tyree Henry are noteworthy, but this is Phoenix's showcase through and through. 

In a year filled with lighthearted comic-book adaptations, Joker is a refreshing change of pace. It dances to the beat of its own rhythm. Uninterested in appeasing the masses, it offers an uncompromising glimpse into the origins of an iconic antagonist. For better or worse, it's what Joker would have wanted. So stop clowning around and go see Joker!

Film Assessment: A+ A-