Joker is a beautiful portrait of a man disregarded and opressed by society and the system he's in. A perfect blend of a realistic adaptation of a comic book character that did not forget of it's comic book elements; Joker is a genre-changer for comic book movies.
Obviously, Joaquin Phoenix is the biggest helm of the film. His performance as Arthur is the best performance from an actor I've seen in recent years, and it is about time for this guy to hold that shiny bold naked Oscar. He laughed, he cried, he ran, he danced, he beat and he killed. Todd Phillips, the director of Joker said that most of the scenes were improvised by Joaquin and I think that is pretty spot on. He totally embodied Arthur Fleck, the man who would then become The Joker, and he succesfully handled the burden of playing one of the hardest character to play ever in film history. You would enjoy, sympathise and cheer, to see Arthur's descend to madness, and his rise as Gotham's Clown Prince of Crime.
Back in 2018, when this film was pitched, I was sceptical because I didn't think Joker needs an origin story and I think this film would sucks. But I am mistaken. I would say that if anyone is to pitch an origin story for The Joker; especially in regards as to what happened to him or what pushed a decent man to become the best comic book villain and one of the best villains in literature/film history, then I would say this film provided the best origin to answer that question.
The story was pretty straightforrward, while there were some twists and dark revelations. Inspirations from Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, two of Martin Scorcese best films was also spot on; while the film also inspired by comic books like Batman: The Killing Joke and The Dark Knight Returns. There were also elements or easter eggs given by Joaquin borrowed to tribute past Jokers, especially Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight.
Spoiler bits: There were some scenes that gave me chills, because they are strongly related to the Batman mythology. First was when Arthur meets Bruce. To see this arch nemesis meeting for the first time, and the fact that both of them did not know it yet at that time, was really exciting. As Arthur danced in front of Bruce while showing him his tricks, the haunting and chilling score by Hildur Gudnadottir adds more to this effect. A real fan service scene if you are a Batman fan. Another scene is at the end of the film, when the eventful night happened; the night when The Joker and Batman were born. Joker is known as the symbol of chaos and anarchism. So, seeing Joker being rescued by the rioters and lifted by them as their saviour and the symbol of anarchism in Gotham, in the middle of chaos, burning street and looting, is just so effing cool and that is the best representation of Joker in a film I have seen since The Dark Knight.
The film's ability to deliver good messages about mental illness, isolation of a lonely young man and a criticism of a capitalistic society while it still able to serve as a good origin story should also be praised. It is not an easy task to deliver an origin story to one of the most recognisable comic book character while ensuring that film still pack a message, but Todd Phillips did it. The guy who did The Hangover trilogy did it. Kudos also for the amazing cinematography. The colour tones are beautiful, with Gotham being painted as its typical somber city but with beautiful neon lights, thus giving it a neo noir vibe. Specific scenes are shot beautifully, especially the train shooting scene and the last riot scene.
The score was also phenomenal. There were various classic songs being used, such as Smile and Frank Sinatra's Send In The Clowns and That's Life, and they fit in the film perfectly. The biggest credit goes to Hildur Gudnadottir, for her amazing scores for Joker and its ability to give the film the tragic symphathetic feel to Arthur, and chilling and intense at times. I really appreciate some small bits of tunes in the score that was inspired by Hans Zimmer's The Dark Knight scores.
Joker is a solid, unique and fresh adaptation of a comic book character. Definitely a genre-changer for comic book movies, and one of the best films I have seen in recent years. A masterpiece of character study and a genre-changer of comicbook movies, Joker is my best film for 2019 and I believe a film like this is going to be a rarity in these days.
9/10 🤡
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