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The Joker review
Violent Psychopath who finds bliss in his own sanity and is comfortable in his own state of twisted reality
Garbage filling the streets, riots filled with fire, and super rats filling the subways are all things that are describing the 1970’s New York City. The dark, desolate city was not how we know it as today. I saw it as inspiration for Gotham City in the new Joker blockbuster that was released on October 4th, 2019 nationwide.
It was directed by Todd Philips who is known for his raunchy comedy The Hangover. This new movie is everything but a comedy. It is about a broken man, Arthur Fleck, who is learning to sit in his own self-pity and develop who he is: the Joker. It is brilliant.
There were so many aspects I truly admire about this movie. Jared Leto’s joker carrying the more mob mentality image and aesthetic compares completely different to Joaquin Phoenix’s play on who the Joker is. Phoenix does an outstanding job of transforming himself into a man who is denying his inner demons into a super-villain who comes to terms with his mind. Unlike a lot of antagonist origin stories, this movie is not the typical fast-paced action-packed movie.
I went into the movie with the expectation that it was going to be more of a The Fast and the Furious like model for a movie. Add the exploding cars, the quick love interest, and the cheesy sob story about the main character and you have the perfect blockbuster. However, this movie was everything but those things. It is a film that is perfect for a film festival with color schemes, plot-line, and characters.
Even though there were dark tones with this film, it is very raw. There are multiple violent scenes that do not shy away from anything. Even sitting there in the movie theater, some specific scenes made me physically uncomfortable. In my mind, that is what makes a movie genuinely great. If it can make you feel a certain emotion, no matter what it is, it is worth seeing. Without some of those uncomfortable aspects of this movie, it would not have led to provoking questions and conversations started by it.
It is filled with gun violence, murder, and harsh language, but that is the world that the Joker lives in. I do agree, various scenes within the film do move slow and they are unneeded. On the other end, there are multiple scenes where Phoenix shows himself as the Joker of this new paved DC universe.
I do recommend seeing this movie. There is no better way to get into the twisted mind of the Joker himself than to see his own fall and his own rise. Everyone was expecting a typical action-adventure movie, and this blows all of that out of the water. It is a new take. This movie is worth a see. If it makes you uncomfortable in your movie theatre seat, that is exactly the way the Joker would have wanted it to be.