“The worst part of having a mental illness is people expect you to behave as if you don’t.”
At first glance, Joker looks like a comic book movie that would be different from the norm. There are no elaborate schemes of world domination. There are no heroes wearing bright costumes patrolling the streets. It looks grim and gritty, yet in the most relatable way possible. Most of us who are used to the flash and pizzazz of Marvel and DC’s cinematic offerings would scoff at the idea presented by this movie.
With its effort to be different though, was how it ended up being something extraordinary.
Arthur Fleck is a man down on his luck and is struggling with mental illness. He is also put in the crosshairs of an unforgiving society, and treated as its red-headed stepchild. Gotham City has always been a hellhole in its own right, but in the 1980’s, it was much worse than that. The movie encapsulates this in the point of view of Arthur, and it isn’t just one bad day that gets to him. It’s numerous bad days that would make our timid protagonist crack and assume an identity that would change the city of Gotham forever.
Most superhero films have a protagonist embracing the hope within humanity. Christopher Reeve’s Superman and Chris Evans’ Captain America come to mind as true paragons of virtue. Joker, however, does the exact opposite, with the idea of a man looking down on us because we looked down on him – unwittingly or not. It’s as interesting a character study as it is a morality tale. The society present in this story chewed him up and spat him out. His deterioration is laid bare to us in excruciating detail, as we see Arthur spiral down throughout the story without any hope for redemption.
The movie is an expert at wrestling with the audience. It makes us feel sympathy for Arthur yet would always remind us that we should not be so gullible as to feel empathy for him. The more we dive into his life, the harder this gets to be, and that is the movie’s shining quality. All of the pain we see through his lens leads to a momentous crescendo that begs the question, “what kind of revenge is truly justified?”
Joker does an excellent job of destroying the notion that the famed villain is just a kooky clown. Joaquin Phoenix delivers a superb performance, as if wearing his character as a second skin – and quite comfortably. Not to be forgotten are the portrayals of Robert De Niro (as Murray Franklin) and Brett Cullen (as Thomas Wayne) that contribute to the downfall of one Arthur Fleck and the rise of one Joker.
The movie doesn’t fall short on twists and turns, but the biggest of them all has nothing to do with the character itself or with the brilliant script. Rather, it’s an undertaking that could be seen as disconcerting, yet ended up delicious in its execution – you won’t get anything like this in the comic books.
How can a movie that shies away from completely adapting anything monumental from the comics have a portrayal that is actually the most accurate and raw? It may end up a mystery. However, it is one that is enthralling to see unfold. Joker walks on a tightrope and does so surprisingly well, taking heavy inspiration from its source material while on the quest to forge its own identity. The end result is the movie becoming a different kind of beast, one that you can’t look away from – even if its descent would eat many a mild-mannered viewer alive.
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