Today’s quick review: Joker. Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) leads a joyless life. His mental issues distance him from the people around him, he’s forced to work a dead-end job as a clown to support his mother Penny (Frances Conroy), and his one dream in life, becoming a stand-up comedian, seems forever out of reach. But all that changes when a burst of violence gives Arthur a new purpose in life and makes him an inadvertent hero to the people of Gotham.
Joker is a crime drama based on the DC Comics character. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Arthur Fleck, a downtrodden man pushed to his limits by his depressing life, his mental illness, and the cruelty of the people around him. Joker is the character portrait of a troubled man, reimagining the DC supervillain as the victim of an uncaring society. Impassioned acting and an interesting premise make Joker a solid watch, but its drama is hit-or-miss.
Joker paints a very different picture of its title character than other adaptations. The larger-than-life villain is nowhere to be seen, replaced by a poor man with more than his fair share of trouble. Joker’s formula is simple in concept: grind Arthur into the dirt and watch him fracture. The film manages some creative variations of this premise, and Joaquin Phoenix goes the extra mile in depicting the sympathetic and deranged sides of the character.
However, Joker sacrifices a lot to make its character arc work. The world it portrays is unremittingly bleak, with only rare spots of black comedy to lighten the tone. Arthur cuts an ambivalent figure, two parts victim to one part monster, with an oddly passive role in the plot. The movie’s themes of mental illness and social conflict are potent in theory, but they only work in practice to the extent that the viewer is able to commiserate with Arthur.
Joker is a well-crafted movie that won’t appeal to everyone. The care that goes into its acting, writing, and direction gives it considerable upshot potential for fans of gritty dramas with heavy themes. But the combination of unsavory subject matter, a specific thematic axe to grind, and a character who has little to do with his origins in the superhero genre makes Joker a movie that can just as easily fall flat. Approach with caution.
For a more villainous take on the character, try The Dark Knight. For a thriller with a psychological angle, try Split. For a more visceral descent into madness, try Requiem for a Dream. For a jazzier, more stylized battle with mental illness, try Birdman. For a more elaborate tale of rebellion against society, try Fight Club.
8.9 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.5 for impressive acting and a novel take on a familiar character.