Jean-Paul’s Rating: 4/5 stars
Bottom Line: Possibly the best origin story ever? Anti-elitist. Socially conscious.
A lot of serious movie critics are not a fan of “Joker” and I think I know why. The undercurrent of the movie is anti-elitist throughout and what is more elitist than getting paid a lot of money by major newspapers to write movie reviews? *looks in mirror* Yep, this checks out. Give me money major newspapers!
“Joker” is a subversive movie which, given the subversive times we live in, is probably why it’s hit such a chord with audiences. The movie portrays Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) as a damaged man that society abandons to an uncaring world of elitists that mock and abuse him making the rise of The Joker inevitable. Why would someone care about a world that has done so much to denigrate and keep you down by actions both covert and overt? People treated like animals will become like animals. The movie doesn’t excuse The Joker’s violent actions, but it leads us on a Johnny Appleseed journey of planting the seeds that would bloom into apple trees of violent fruit.
Joaquin Phoenix lost a lot of weight to star in this movie and his emaciated body is hard to look at sometimes. His facial control is just remarkable and he really brings The Joker to life with his ticks and laughter. His precise body movements, too, add a lot to the movie. He takes the awkward and ungainly Arthur Fleck and slowly transforms him into the assured and coordinated Joker. It is a sight to behold.
There is a bit of an issue with convenient lost time that bothered me a bit after viewing. We know from the beginning that Arthur Fleck was institutionalized for something, but we never really quite learn what. This would be an unimportant detail except for the fact that much of the plot depends on Arthur Fleck also not knowing anything about the time that came before. This wouldn’t be a problem if the movie at all acknowledged it in some way, but leaving it hanging there left me feeling like an important part of Arthur Fleck’s journey was missing.
The way the movie ties into the greater Batman universe is pretty interesting in ways I can’t mention without spoiling things. It definitely gives the relationship with Joker and Bruce Wayne a twist and delves a little into how Wayne Enterprises may have gotten their shady dealings started, which is a popular theme in Batman lore.
I’m always excited when the DC universe does a DC comic justice given the dearth of good ones they produce. Though I don’t recall seeing a DC logo on the film, which may in part count for this one being good. It will be interesting to see if “Joker” holds up in ten years or if it is more of a product of its times. Regardless, it’s certainly worth watching it now and you should do so.