Movie Review: Joker

Joker

Director: Todd Phillips

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

Rating: R

Runtime: 122 minutes

Not many films make me actively uncomfortable. Many films have made me feel a bit ill, some have even made me feel nervous, but I can count the number of films that have actually made me physically uncomfortable on one hand. Midsommar, an earlier release from this year, is one of those films, and if you know how that plays out, you’ll probably understand why. Now, after finally seeing Joker, I can add it to the list of films that have made me feel this way.

Joker’s a curious beast. It doesn’t feel like it needs to be about the Joker, it could realistically work for anyone. But, it also works incredibly well as the transformation story of how one Arthur Fleck snaps and becomes the clown prince of crime.

Joaquin Phoenix is absolutely magnificent in the titular role. It’s a performance that may soon become known as one of the greatest roles of his career, he’s simply that great. It takes an actor of great skill to manage to make you feel both sorry for the character of Arthur Fleck and horrified by what he eventually becomes. It’s a good thing Phoenix is so good in the film, as the rest of the cast leave something to be desired. Robert De Niro is great when he’s actually in the film, charming as the TV host Murray Franklin, but Zazie Beetz is grossly underused as Sophie Dumond, a love interest to Phoenix’s Fleck. She’s simply just not given much character, and to be fair, there is a reason behind this, but she still doesn’t quite feel well utilised.

Now, the direction itself. Todd Phillips is a jerk, plain and simple. His comments before the film released about how “comedy is now dead” cemented that to me, and I don’t like any of his other films in the slightest. However, I have to admit he’s done a pretty damn good job here. You can very much tell from the get-go that he’s mimicking Scorcese’s style, and it’d be an issue if he did that and was straight up bad at it, but Phillips brings something new to the table. It feels fresh, different from Scorcese’s style, yet the same. The whole sequence featuring the (now famous) stair scene is jaw-droppingly gorgeous and wonderfully cathartic to see.

There is, however, one issue and in order to discuss it, I’ll have to hit upon mild spoilers. Throughout the film, the character of Arthur Fleck is meant to be sympathised with, seen as a victim, which to be fair he is without a shadow of a doubt. But when he eventually and inevitably transforms into the Joker, the insane and remorseless killer that the character has always been, that sympathy still remains because the film spends time building up Fleck as a character before he breaks. It doesn’t feel quite right, his transformation into the Joker. And maybe that’s what Phillips and Phoenix were going for, that it isn’t normal or right, that one person can only be pushed through so much before suddenly becoming a different beast entirely. But whatever it is, it’s very uncomfortable to watch.

Joker as a film is beautifully shot, beautifully acted and just beautiful in general. There are a few issues with pacing here and there that prevent it from reaching truly transcendent heights and I disagree with the handling of some of the characters, but it’s nothing too major. Joker sits as one of the most unsettling, brilliant, terrifying films I’ve seen all year.

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