Joker

The Partially Educated Review

I’ve never been all that fond of explaining the Joker’s origin. I’ll acknowledge that The Killing Joke is a fantastically written comic book, but I just feel like interpretations of the character are better served with as little knowledge of his motivations as possible; hence why Ledger will always trump Nicholson. With Joker though, this is a film so downright grim in tone that it could make Batman V Superman seem tonally akin to Howard The Duck. The reassuring thing about that is there’s no way the studios are letting this version of the Clown Prince anywhere near their Batman films; allowing it to exist on an alternate plane. Somehow that makes it OK to me.

As I’m sure you know, Joaquin Phoenix is in the title role, playing wannabe stand-up comedian Arthur Fleck. That is all I’m willing to say about the plot. You’ll learn where he’s at mentally pretty fast and you obviously know where he’s headed. It’s the route there that holds the spoilers. Now, before I go any further, let's get the controversy out of the way.

The idea that this could influence people to commit similar acts is obviously out there and if you’re thinking that, then I'd say you're contributing to the problems that the film is attempting to draw attention to. This film’s view is one of a society that is crippled by injustice and that can’t help but be emblazoned by the people proclaiming the film itself to be immoral. There was not a single point where I felt like this film was presenting me with justification for Fleck’s actions nor did I ever see him as an aspirational figure. Any of my resentment was aimed squarely at the society that gives us the troubling plausibility of what unfolds.

Phoenix is fantastic. I recently saw this used as a way of describing his performance…

…and I couldn’t agree less. An early characteristic we’re given is that his uncontrollable laughing is the result of a condition that causes him to do it at inappropriate moments, even if he finds no humour in the situation. The anguish he shows in these moments is palpably chilling with a genuine fear setting in on me over the next time these moments may break out. Elsewhere, the gradual cracking of his placid nature comes along through a natural evolution, rather than the stuttered steps that often make performances of this type feel like a series of small explosions. It’s his film through and through and while there are no bad performances elsewhere, they all fall under his shadow. Even De Niro.

Director Todd Phillips is not someone who’s known for his delicate touch. But for two thirds of Joker, he does hold back somewhat. Flashy set-pieces are nowhere to be seen and despite the change in genre from his past work (Old School, The Hangover), you never get the impression that he’s feeling as if he has to prove himself. Unfortunately, the final third does stumble a little, not because of any out and out missteps, but because of predictability. The beginning of the climax teases a particularly grim occurrence that bodes for things going even darker than you would have expected and though there’s a complete absence of light to the finale, there’s also a dearth of surprises. That’s not to say that poor quality sets in though as it absolutely does not. It certainly doesn’t do anything to betray the excellent start and Phoenix remains magnetically chilling from start to finish.

Phillips recently made some fairly moronic comments about woke society destroying comedy. I checked though and woke is defined as “Alert to injustice in society”. Guess what, Todd. You just made one of the most woke films of the year.

EIGHT out of 10