A Reel Review: JOKER

One of the more puzzling stories to break in today’s onslaught of comic book movies is the super-villain solo film; where a villain is given his or her own film without their hero-rival. Such a story can work to an extent, but most baddies are what they are because of their opposite; they see what they hate or are jealous of on the other side of the fence, and that completes the character. Figuring out a good story and movie with only half the recipe has been a challenge for studios and filmmakers, a challenge taken on this year by director Todd Phillips and Batman’s most famous villain, The Joker. 

In 1980’s Gotham City, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), is a struggling comedian working part-time as a clown, taking care of his ailing mother (Frances Conroy), and attending therapy sessions to deal with his mental illness and compulsion for laughing at all the wrong times. After one bad day, Arthur moves into madness as he discovers secrets about his past and begins to lash out at society. 

JOKER does not have much in plot, and follows Arthur during a week of his life where he is mugged, beaten, fired, and has his dreams of being a stand-up comedian stomped on. There are sub-plots including Arthur’s mother trying to earn back the attention of her former employer, billionaire Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen), a possible romance with his neighbor (Zazie Beetz), and his want to appear on a popular late-night TV show hosed by Murray Franklin (Robert DeNiro). All this is topped off with Arthur’s inability to separate reality from his own fantasies, and we are often treated to scenes that are happening in his head only. 

In this timeline, Gotham has a major class divide (with Arthur on the lower side), and director Todd Phillips is playing with the line between Haves and the Have-nots, and it is against the Haves that Arthur eventually unleashes his rage against. In a clever change-up, we are led to think that we are to feel sympathy for Arthur, but that is eventually smashed as he gains a taste for blood and embraces the Joker. The film takes its time to examine Arthur and what makes him tick, and there is enough meat on the bone to carry the film. 

Showing no shame, JOKER takes a lot of its influence from the 1970’s era of nihilistic films, where anti-heroes dominated the storylines. It’s fine to see a fresh take on an old story, but JOKER leans so heavily on those movies it loses a lot of its original identity. The film has no moral center; nothing for Arthur/Joker to contrast against. He instead attacks the society that has rejected him…a society that is portrayed as corrupt anyway. It becomes a case of the rotten vs. the rotting and it’s difficult to know who or what to root for; a blessing and a curse for JOKER. 

Mental illness is at front-and-center which is another good and bad point for JOKER. Phillips shows us just how difficult life can be for those who are different mentally, but at the same time he makes the troubling decision to use that mental illness as an excuse for violence. In a way it’s refreshing, as this gives us a super-villain coming from the gutters as opposed to power or privilege. But on the other hand it’s a little careless as it clings too tightly to its nihilistic roots. But the real fumbling happens with Arthur’s fantasies, which start off great, goes into a clever twist, but are then forgotten about for the entire last act of the film. 

Acting is very good with Phoenix deservingly dominating the film as he’s in every single scene. His laugh is disturbing, his distorted body movements un-nerving, and his turn from poor-man to evil-man is fascinating to see. Phoenix however does feel restrained in some areas, and we never really see him go totally bat-shit crazy. The rest of the cast is handled well, although many long-time comic fans may have issues with the portrayal of Thomas Wayne. Although the acting by Brett Cullen is very good, Mr. Wayne here treats the lower-class like dirt, which is a far cry from the good character that would one day inspire his son to save his city. 

JOKER may take the name of one of the greatest comic villains of all time, but it is such a departure from the large-scale battles we’re used to seeing that it barely registers as a comic-book movie. It isn’t until the very end that the Joker we’ve known and are expecting finally shows up, and in the meantime,  we are treated to a unique character study that just happens to take place in the famed Gotham City. The issues are many, but not deal-breaking, and most of the problems are up to the viewer to decide if they really are problems. Todd Phillips hasn’t solved the problem of the solo-villain movie, but it’s as close as we could hope for. 

BOTTOM LINE: See it