Joker (2019) Review

Joker (2019)

Let’s kick this new page off with my tied-for favorite movie of 2019, Joker.

Joker follows Arthur Fleck, a struggling comedian with high aspirations, that after an incident that left 3 men dead on the subway, he slowly descends into madness, or clarity, as he sees the world for what it is, in this origin story for one of DC's biggest villains.

For starters, this movie blew me away. Its a slow build, with intricate pieces, that builds to an unbelievable climax and ending. Director Todd Phillips, amazingly, went and took the Joker’s convoluted origin story and made it so much better, giving is a mix of Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. It’s frightening, disturbing, and a masterpiece from the acting, directing, sound track, set design, and even the outfits. It’s all done so well. Making him suffer form mental issues, to the point where he almost obsesses over making it big and meeting TV talk host Murray Franklin. It doesn't falter with that though, clearly showing his steady decline--mentally--where the world has beat him down time and time again and that day on the subway was where he says enough.  I also liked the neat aspects of his life that they added, from his job as a clown, Thomas Wayne possibly being his father, and how he uses the one stage he wanted most to make his big move.  

And don’t even get me started with Joaquin Phoenix. He’s an astonishing actor, been a fan of his for awhile now, but he plays the character of Arthur in such a different way than you would expect. The Joker is always portrayed as this agent of chaos, but in this, it’s a man who hit rock bottom and things become clearer the more he descends into this new persona. He sees how the world wronged him and how those around him wronged him. Unlike previous Joker actors, Phoenix doesn’t go full method with this, but damn it sure seems that way. The whole film is grounded in reality and honestly, is something that could happen, which makes it all the more intriguing.  We also get great performances from Robert De Niro, Zazie Beets, and Brett Cullen.  

Joker takes all the pieces from the comics and from Heath Ledger's performance that make the Joker such a fascinating and entertaining character and give him a proper backstory, family, and set up his deep ties to Bruce Wayne, being his brother and the reason that his parents died. All around its a hell of a movie, and a true joy to watch over and over again, giving us a superhero genre flick that is equal parts entertaining and cinematically well done.

10/10