DC Comics’ film department is going through an interesting period in its lifespan. After trying and failing to build a cinematic universe, the development team has adjusted to the more lucrative conceit of “let’s focus on doing one movie about one character.” So far, it’s paid off given the massive success of Wonder Woman and Aquaman. Now, they’re veering to an extreme 180 degree turn from the cinematic universe angle with Joker. A film containing no references to what previous films had established before that goes for a severe hard R for “strong bloody violence, disturbing behavior, language and brief sexual images” per the MPAA. Writer/director Todd Phillips has elected to take a massive left turn from the typical superhero faire (aside from a few hamfisted references to DC Comics lore) or even an anti-hero style oddball film like Venom. Instead, he has taken an iconic comic book villain and turned him into the villain protagonist of an angry nihilistic character study in the vein of Taxi Driver or The King of Comedy.
The Joker of this adaptation isn’t a smiling buffoon with a painted over moustache. Nor is he a grinning gangster out to get Batman and his “wonderful toys.” He isn’t even the grimey king of chaos who can’t wait to tell people about his scars. No, this version is Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a lonely party clown and failed stand up comic with a past of psychological problems who dreams of being on his favorite late night talk show hosted by his comedy idol Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro). He’s been cut off from psychiatric care thanks to underfunding for Gotham City’s social services department, with no real future insight. He takes care of his mentally ill mother Penny (Frances Conroy) while hopelessly crushing on the single mother neighbor Sophie (Zazie Beetz) down the hall. All of this compounds on his psyche, gradually transforming him into a warped version of the clown themed villain we know of.
Right up front, the ace up the sleeve of Joker is obviously Joaquin Phoenix. Phoenix is very devoted to making Arthur a dangerous individual. His mannerisms and facial tics feel unpredictable at every turn, making any audience member stand on edge as they see Arthur handle strife. This emaciated husk of a person who takes being dumped on by life and turns into a compactor of human misery. Phoenix lost a lot of weight for the role and he looks nearly inhuman. The way his bones contort on his back alone portray a man who has not eaten in weeks, somehow surviving on whatever brief emotional context he can harvest. Joaquin finds the inner desolate evil grin to shine at a moment’s notice and marinates in the awkward tension of that grin.
There’s an occasional nugget of human pity buried underneath bitter malice and unbelievably heinous action, but Phoenix is devoted to making Arthur into a true monster. We see him care about his mother but then angrily rail when he feels threatened. He’s nice to single mother Sophie until she diverges attention away from him. Arthur takes the bad cards he’s dealt and slashes people in the face with the sharp edges. No joy, no heart, no sincerity. Just a devotion to self preservation by way of harming others. Consistently unpleasant to watch, but never unengaging enough to turn away from. A true villain protagonist for better and worse. Truly, Joaquin Phoenix does the best possible version of what is being asked of him in Joker which alone earns him every bit of praise he’s received for this unique performance.
To match the soulfully filthy take from Phoenix, the cinematography and production design have elaborate dingy detail. Joker wants to be a full on early Martin Scorsese film and wears the appropriate costume to pull off the look. This 80s era Gotham is a desolate stand in for the slummy New York that Scorsese would populate his characters in. A garbage strike immerses the streets in filth. Buildings have extensive cracks in the drywall. The townsfolk are protesting the lack of attention from the rich in droves. Rising tension permeates the atmosphere, which cinematographer Lawrence Sher immerses in garish green haze that makes Gotham feel like a bloated corpse of a former metropolitan hub of industry. There’s a feeling of abandonment to the look of a city begging for a symbol to guide them. It’s a sheen that sells the themes of the film far more than… anything else about Joker does.
The confluence of these two elements is unfortunately marred by the mess of a screenplay. Joker constantly wants to sell the image that it isn’t your typical comic book movie or the usual fare of its director. Todd Phillips – previously known for his raunchy comedies like Old School and The Hangover Trilogy – wants to make the type of gritty crime stories that gave Martin Scorsese his start. Yet, all of his efforts feel hollow and self serving rather than the engaging take on mental illness and societal woes it portrays itself as. Of Phillips’ filmography, the only one Joker even mildly resembles is The Hangover Part III. A personal middle finger assault on the audience as Phillips took a contractual obligation for a third film in a comedy franchise that divulged into a mean spirited Tony Scott wannabe crime movie with half the style and far more aggressively angry transgressive shouting into a void. While Joker isn’t quite as grating, it still has a similar futile rage that fuels every step. Complete with Phillips’ usual bizarre soundtrack choices and awkward moments of comedic relief that get more and more deflating with each scene. The difference is this time, Phillips seems to be absolutely self serious as we see the world through his lens that has about as much insight as a high schooler fresh off watching Fight Club for the first time without getting its satiric messages.
One example that nails this home is Joker‘s treatment of the mentally ill, a major theme throughout. We see Arthur and several other people suffer at the hands of underfunding for public programs that benefit daily living for these individuals. They’re left destitute and all fingers are pointed at rich folks like Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen) who do nothing but exploit the tragedy for personal gain. Yet, the film itself does cheap ploys to make the horrific exploits of its mentally unstable yet monstrous protagonist more visually engaging and righteous. It’s a hypocrisy Joker lives by that seems cosmically appropriate to the spirit of the comics character, but only becomes repetitively groan worthy as time goes on. Where as a film like Scorsese’s King of Comedy has elegant nuance to its story of obsession gone awry, Joker sticks to one lane of cultural commentary and never leaves the track. This story has all the pretensions of being a Taxi Driver, but has all of the insight and political guts of De Niro parodying his iconic “You Talkin’ To Me?” speech in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Joker fancies itself a Very Serious Movie™ for Todd Phillips. He wants everyone to know that he isn’t the Hangover director any longer. His big boy pants are on now and he isn’t mincing words about the dark cynical overtones he’s displaying here. Trouble is, the bombast is all sound and fury signifying so little. He somehow lucked into one of our greatest modern performers giving his usual unrelenting raw passion to this role and a cinematographer who dresses all of Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver‘s decisions in a perfect grimey looking package. Yet, the clothes don’t totally maketh the man in this case, as underneath the three piece Joker ensemble is a one note repetition of what any basic fan of this character would imagine. The sad thing is I love the idea of this type of interpretation. An alternate universe look at what a classic comics character could be rather than the same regurgitated drivel we tend to get. It’s just a shame that Joker repeats these conceits ad nauseum with little meaning to go around. By the time this punchline of a climax takes place, we’re already way ahead of the reveal.
Rating: 2 out of 5 Party Clown Wigs
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