526: Joker

[00:00:01] Let's get to a bonus review, which is Joker from 2019. It's directed by Todd Phillips, stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Shea Wiggum.

[00:00:19] And the synopsis is, Arthur Fleck, a party clown and a failed stand-up comedian, leads an impoverished life with his ailing mother. However, when society shuns him and brands him as a freak, he decides to embrace the life of chaos in Gotham City.

[00:00:40] So, firstly, I know this isn't, I guess, the typical Halloween movie, but sometimes I associate Joker stuff, DC movies with Halloween, and I usually rewatch Joker around this time of year.

[00:00:53] So, maybe I'm in the minority, I don't know, but figured I'd include it. As of now, I've not seen Joker 2 yet. I will be doing a review when I do see that.

[00:01:07] Well, when this one was released and the build-up to it, people went nuts for it. It made a billion dollars at the box office. It got Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar, amongst many other accolades as well.

[00:01:26] I was very much looking forward to it. I'm a big Joker fan. I usually prefer the more ambitious, one-off DC movies as opposed to a lot of the safer stuff of Marvel.

[00:01:38] Not to say that Marvel is bad. Love Marvel. I've seen it a handful of times, but even when I first saw it, I really, really liked it.

[00:01:49] I don't think it's perfect, but as far as superhero films or comic book films go, it's one of my favorites. Before I get more into that, I know that there are a lot of haters of this movie, which to each their own, fair enough.

[00:02:06] But I know one main criticism that I read is people criticize the shallowness of the psychological aspect of Arthur Fleck.

[00:02:20] That's something I can see it in a sense, but compared to all the other movies, compared to all the other character studies, both comic book films and not, I don't know why this one...

[00:02:33] I know people just love to hate on DC for some reason, but I don't really understand why this one, the, I guess, shallowness of it is a bigger issue compared to other ones.

[00:02:45] Because there are plenty of celebrated movies that don't go any further into their ideas than this one does.

[00:02:52] Not to say it's undeserving of any criticism, but that has always sort of baffled me.

[00:02:59] For the most part, nine times out of ten, the people who I talked to about this movie, it did have some sort of effect on them.

[00:03:09] I was very emotionally invested, psychologically invested.

[00:03:14] I really like the portrayal of Arthur Fleck being this person who is completely run down by society, by those around him.

[00:03:23] He's disregarded.

[00:03:24] The medical system is failing him.

[00:03:27] The city itself is dying, in a sense, and he just cannot get ahead.

[00:03:32] He's dragging through life while also taking care of his mother and really does not have a life of his own.

[00:03:41] And then he's failing at the things that he really wants to do, that makes him happy.

[00:03:48] And that's something that I think most people can relate to, in a sense.

[00:03:55] Everybody gets a point in their life when they're just bogged down by everything.

[00:03:59] They're beaten down.

[00:04:00] They're worn out.

[00:04:01] And in some ways, the rebellion of him in this movie, while obviously it's criminal, I think there's still that experiential nature where it's showing this guy bouncing back and bouncing back very hard.

[00:04:22] I know also that when this came out, there was a lot of criticism as to it possibly inciting violence.

[00:04:33] I don't mean to be contrarian for the sake of it.

[00:04:35] I'm just honestly saying how all of these things that people put onto this movie, projected onto it, was way overblown.

[00:04:46] I see movies every month about people being disregarded, being thrown away, fighting the man, that sort of thing, and rising up, causing violence, causing this, causing that.

[00:05:01] Revolution in a variety of ways.

[00:05:03] And those don't seem to be criticized for that.

[00:05:08] So I think that those observations, if that's you, fine.

[00:05:14] I just disagree.

[00:05:17] I don't think that there's really a lot there to really pinpoint as, yes, this is what this means, or this is what that means.

[00:05:26] This is a direct reflection.

[00:05:28] It feels, in a lot of ways, due to how it's shot.

[00:05:31] It's shot incredibly well.

[00:05:33] It looks great.

[00:05:35] It reminded me a lot of Taxi Driver, which is a definite inspiration for Todd Phillips.

[00:05:41] Even Seven, the David Fincher film, in terms of the aesthetic.

[00:05:47] Getting more so, I don't want to talk about all the surrounding stuff with it too much.

[00:05:53] The opening scene really sets the stage for everything in terms of him being this street clown for a business, and then these bullies knocking him down and beating him up.

[00:06:05] And what I love, because I knew her work before this, and I was so happy to see that she got this huge opportunity, and she won the Oscar for it as well.

[00:06:19] I cannot say her name properly, so I'm not even going to try.

[00:06:22] I don't want to butcher it too much.

[00:06:23] But the composer, who is an Icelandic composer, the score is incredible.

[00:06:30] That really bassy, edgy, icy string music throughout the whole thing.

[00:06:38] The moment you hear that, you know you're in for something very different, tonally and emotionally.

[00:06:44] At least in terms of what I was expecting going in.

[00:06:46] I didn't expect it to be as grueling and grim and lived in as it really does feel.

[00:06:57] Todd Phillips in general, he's a bit hit and miss for me.

[00:07:01] I like The Hangover a lot.

[00:07:03] War Dogs, not a huge fan.

[00:07:06] I like Old School, and I appreciate him taking chances, as he did with Joker 2, which I'm very excited to see, no matter what.

[00:07:16] Performance-wise, Joaquin Phoenix, I mean he's one of the best actors working today, in my opinion.

[00:07:21] He's always been one of my favorites for years.

[00:07:24] He is amazing in this.

[00:07:26] And I know that if they had a lesser actor in this, it would not be the same movie.

[00:07:33] He definitely carries it and gives the movie more depth emotionally, and even just showing that arc.

[00:07:42] That fine line of him teetering between bursting out into violence and anger, the depression, the frustration,

[00:07:51] the just being a fish out of water, not really connecting with people well, scaring people.

[00:07:59] The laugh is very unsettling, effectively so.

[00:08:06] And I like that they also explain that, in terms of him having this card that says,

[00:08:12] I have a condition.

[00:08:13] And they do a decent job of making that seem like this is a real guy.

[00:08:17] It's not him falling into a vat of acid and becoming the Joker.

[00:08:22] It's, here, I have this condition that's causing this uncontrollable laughter.

[00:08:26] And then he was a clown for work, and so fit all the pieces together.

[00:08:34] As Arthur Fleck sees himself towards the beginning as if he was on Robert De Niro's show, his talk show,

[00:08:44] and that fantasy of being seen, being beloved, being cared for.

[00:08:51] Very much a wish fulfillment.

[00:08:53] And I think most people could probably relate to that in a sense of you thinking,

[00:08:58] what would it be like if I got to be on my favorite talk show or anything like that?

[00:09:06] The scenes with the therapist or the psychiatrist, whoever it is,

[00:09:10] and her not really having the ability to help him because of how failed the system is around him,

[00:09:19] and then just in general not being the best help by herself either.

[00:09:26] So that's definitely a, sadly, a very relevant thing nowadays in terms of people finding the right help

[00:09:34] for what's going on or being listened to, especially in the medical field.

[00:09:40] Zazie Beetz is another good part of the film.

[00:09:44] She doesn't have a whole lot to do, but I like that character and that dream sequence of him

[00:09:48] when he gets invigorated and he opens up the door and kisses her.

[00:09:53] I think that's, considering it's a dream, I think it's effective.

[00:09:58] The bathroom dance, iconic, of course.

[00:10:03] That's one of the more referenced parts of the movie,

[00:10:05] and I know that that was a bit of an off-the-cuff choice by Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix at the time.

[00:10:12] Plus the stairway dance, that's amazing.

[00:10:19] I mean, again, say what you will, but I think this movie really did capture something very different

[00:10:24] and so full of energy, both the lightness and the darkness,

[00:10:32] especially when you have that buildup, for example, towards the beginning

[00:10:35] when you see Arthur Fleck coming home from work, I think,

[00:10:39] and he's at the bottom of the steps and he just has to really slog his way upstairs to the very top.

[00:10:47] And then when things go crazy and he kills the guy in the apartment

[00:10:50] and he's wearing the white face paint and that all builds up to him

[00:10:56] in some ways becoming the person that he wants to.

[00:10:59] For the worse, obviously, but for him, that's what he wants.

[00:11:05] One of the more unsettling scenes that didn't really need to be there,

[00:11:09] but I think it's very creepy, is when he goes to Wayne Manor

[00:11:13] and he sees Bruce behind the gate and he just sticks his fingers in the boy's mouth

[00:11:21] and makes him smile.

[00:11:22] It's so gross to think if that was actually...

[00:11:25] Could you imagine that being your kid and you walking up

[00:11:27] and seeing some random person do that to your child?

[00:11:31] Pretty crazy, but in the context of the movie,

[00:11:34] I don't doubt him for doing something as weird as that.

[00:11:40] The killing of Robert De Niro live on the show is pretty insane and very...

[00:11:45] I mean, you knew something like that was coming,

[00:11:47] but it's very shocking when it happens.

[00:11:54] The aftermath of all that is...

[00:11:57] I mean, I don't really need to see them actually starting this big riot revolution,

[00:12:01] but I think it's still epic and feel and very dramatic.

[00:12:09] Some design choices that are very good.

[00:12:13] The look of Arthur Fleck before he really becomes Joker

[00:12:17] with how his outfits really feel both like he's a little kid,

[00:12:22] but also an old guy.

[00:12:24] I don't know how that was accomplished,

[00:12:27] but I think that comes through completely.

[00:12:32] The Joker suit, when he becomes Joker, quote unquote,

[00:12:36] it feels sort of like how he used to dress,

[00:12:40] just much more vivid and very 70s in nature.

[00:12:45] I don't mind the tie-in to The Mom and The Wayne Family.

[00:12:52] Maybe some people don't like that.

[00:12:54] Let me know if you have a way to comment,

[00:12:55] but I really didn't mind that.

[00:12:57] I thought it was well told within the script.

[00:13:03] When I think of movies dealing with...

[00:13:06] I mean, you could almost call it misery porn,

[00:13:08] which I don't think that's inherently a bad thing for me.

[00:13:11] Sometimes I like just watching a movie about a guy

[00:13:14] who's down in the dumps the whole time,

[00:13:16] and you can kind of just wallow in that

[00:13:19] or show, hey, someone is in a worse place than I am.

[00:13:23] Something like that.

[00:13:24] I think we all need that at one point or another.

[00:13:30] So that one is a heavy four and a half out of five.