Movie Review of Joker

    Joker Warner Bros.

Dark troubled Joker sends a modern message   

As a fresh interpretation of the origins of DC Comics infamous villain, the Joker, a new movie of the same name has hit the screens all over the world. Let me warn potential viewers - it is not for the faint of heart. This film brutally tackles mental illness, disability, child abuse, bullying, backstabbing, assault, and income inequality. All the issues that are front and center in today's world like never before.

Joaquin Phoenix, as the Joker, transcends the character as well as any of his predecessors. His performance throughout the film is sublime and draws empathy for the anti-hero from the audience despite the darkest paths he takes. Unlike prior movie interpretations of the clown-faced villain, this one starts out with a fairly mild mannered good, albeit mentally unwell, individual named Arthur Fleck. Through a series of unfortunate events and family history revelations, he gradually transforms into an image of a clown, out for justice. In this pursuit of justice he ultimately loses his humanity and becomes the criminal we know as Joker.

How a mild mannered man becomes Joker 

The movie opens up with Arthur Fleck trying to force a smile onto his face, as he prepares for a day of promoting a sale for a store that's going out of business. He is initially bullied and then heavily beaten by teenagers who ridicule his appearance - an example of bullying at its finest. He doesn't lash out, but misfortunes do not end. In his journey to try to make people laugh as an unsuccessful comedian, he is ridiculed, humiliated, and betrayed; all the while taking care of his mother in the poorest neighborhood of Gotham. Meanwhile the city's well off residents belittle its poorest inhabitants, with the city's mayoral candidate Thomas Wayne calling the poor 'clowns'.

The trademark laugh of Joker in this movie is a condition Arthur Fleck suffers from - a random uncontrollable laughter that is not connected to the actual emotions he is experiencing. That condition finally triggers a confrontation with bullies, where he snaps and exacts bloody revenge. But the transformation is still not complete as he sees that encounter to be justice not just for him, but for the city's 'other' poor inhabitants. His sanity is completely shattered and he loses all grip with it, when a series of family history revelations come to pass. Here, his confrontation with a youngster named Bruce Wayne is very well executed by the director Todd Phillips.

Chaos in Gotham 

The movie swings to the city which is now on the brink with protests, using the image of the 'clown' as its mark of resistance by the poorer inhabitants against the better off upper class. There is nothing remaining of the mild mannered and kind Arthur Fleck at this point. Instead, now there is only maniacal homicidal Joker who has no hesitation exacting his brand of 'justice' against those whom he deems to be not good people. In the end, we see fire, rubble, angry men, and Joker as their ringleader. At this point, nobody is safe - no television personality and no rich man.

Joker is a commentary on our current state

Much like with Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards, there is a commentary to be extracted from Todd Phillips' Joker. This movie serves as a warning regarding the problems our country is facing today. After all it was a combination of income inequality, bullying, child abuse, and discrimination that drove well mannered kind man to become the homicidal maniac known as Joker removed from all humanity. It is these very factors that we see on the rise in our country today. And unless we address them and get in touch with our humanity, our cities risk suffering the same fate as Gotham.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics have given this movie a passing grade of 68% approval, while Metacritic has given it a borderline score of 59 so far. Respectfully, I see it differently. Joker is a movie worthy of praise, as it discovers a hauntingly plausible origin story of one of the most iconic Comic book villains, while sending a real life message to its audience regarding the kind of treatment a man receives that can drive him to such savagery. While there are certainly things that could have been better, this movie is worthy of having to purchase a movie ticket and I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Until next time, grab your popcorn, milk duds, turn off the phone, and enjoy the movie.