Joker Review

Certificate: 15

Running time: 122 minutes 

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, Robert De Niro, Frances Conroy

Directed by: Todd Phillips

The story: Loner and failed comedian Arthur Fleck becomes increasingly unstable after funding for his psychiatric support is stopped and slowly he begins a descent into madness, transforming himself into criminal mastermind The Joker.

The verdict: I have tried to start this review several times in several different ways, but each time I have gotten stuck and deleted what I’ve written - Joker is a very difficult film to unpack and discuss. And that is not because it’s bad, but because it’s complicated. This film is very bleak and it won’t leave you feeling good.

Technically, Joker is fantastic. The cinematography is excellent, the colour palette is perfect and the production design is spot on - altogether the setting of a restless Gotham City in 1981 is brought to life flawlessly. The performances are great and as expected, Joaquin Phoenix is the standout of this film. I have seen some reviews which have said he’s done better performances, but I certainly cannot find any fault in his turn as Arthur Fleck. Phoenix is awkward yet graceful, he’s repulsive yet sympathetic, he’s terrifying yet pathetic - he manages to bring so many facets to his performance and each facet is as convincing as the next one. You can see that Phoenix has completely embodied his role and though it sounds so silly to say, at times I almost felt worried for him. Actors who have played The Joker previously have spoken about how the character’s darkness threatens to overpower you as an actor, and Phoenix is so incredibly immersed in the role. Though I think it’s important to note that Phoenix very much feels like Arthur Fleck in this film, with The Joker being almost an afterthought. This is a film about Arthur not The Joker.

Joker is probably one of the most interesting comic book films to date, in that it doesn’t particularly feel like a comic book film. Some audiences may be expecting to see a pretty action packed film with The Joker carrying out heists etc. Joker is not like that at all. Joker is a slow burn film about a man’s descent into madness. And the audience is fully pulled into that descent. As I said above - this film won’t leave you feeling good. Joker is dark and grim, and it’s incredibly nihilistic. When I left the cinema, I felt pretty depressed - Joker is downbeat and it does serve to remind you how utterly horrible mankind can be.

Joker has been the subject of some controversy, with media outlets saying that the film could incite violence and copycat behaviour. When I first saw this criticism of the film, I thought that perhaps it was a bit unfair. However, now having watched the film, I can sort of see where these criticisms are coming from. Though you could argue that any film is capable of inciting violence etc, with The Joker being such an iconic character, it has almost more power and influence. And the even more troubling truth is that you do find yourself sympathising with Arthur and understanding why he snapped in the way that he did. Arthur is treated appallingly and it might not be completely unfair to say that some of his victims had it coming. Yesterday I saw a video online of a young boy being beaten up by a group of peers. It was incredibly distressing and upsetting, and I’m sure a number of people would want to see those boys punished and perhaps even given a taste of their own medicine. It’s in this sort of thinking that morals become blurred and what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ becomes subjective. This is what Joker does. It blurs those lines and perhaps some impressionable audiences would see Arthur’s way of doing things to be correct. Thus, in that way Joker could be viewed as controversial.

Joker was engaging throughout and was without a doubt a highly accomplished piece of filmmaking. And yet, in spite of all its pros, there is something niggling at me about this film. I wonder if this film is only elevated by Phoenix’s performance? Or perhaps it’s because there is something numbing about Joker and its resulting feeling of dejection. When I think back on some of the shots, particularly the ones of Phoenix dancing on the steps, I think this film was incredible. Then when I think about the strange sense of politics in it and the shoehorning in of Batman lore after director Todd Phillips vehemently denied this film had anything to do with the rest of the DC Universe, and I think perhaps Joker is a weak film with a stunning central performance. Overall, I think I’ll give Joker the benefit of the doubt and rate it at the higher end of the scale, but I do so cautiously.

The rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️