Joker (2019) review

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Joker (2019)

If one considers Joker to be a superhero or supervillian comic book type film, then it has a wider brush of plausibility it can use, rather than if it is saddled with the confines of a potential true to life story. However, despite its title, Joker is not comic book material, but an R-rated psychological thriller. The story grabs one’s attention right out of the chute, but by the third act (about the point that the clown masks appear), it has gone off the rails. From that point on, there is not a shred of plausibility, even to the level of a comic book; and it brushes right up against triteness.

To be sure Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of the title character was first rate, memorable, and certain to be Oscar nominated, although to my taste a greater performance was his Freddie Quell in The Master. Phoenix has a natural affinity for, and an ability to portray weird, threatening, or stoner/druggy type characters. His role in You Were Never Really Here was in many ways similar to his Joker role. Arthur Fleck was right squarely in Phoenix’s wheelhouse-- a perfectly thrown pass which he ran with to a touchdown.

Hildur Guonadottir’s music score was sneaky-good, and perfectly captured the mood of the action. But it was the phenomenal cinematography by Lawrence Sher that really aced the film’s tone and era. Liberty was taken with the story’s time period, which should be in the 1930s/40s, but of course there was no television then, nor would the settings be nearly as undemanding to portray as were the early 1980s.

One wonders who besides Warner Bros./D.C. needed another Joker portrayal. The character has been well featured many times since the 1940s. Will the figure become part of one’s necessary repertoire? “Have you done Hamlet? Macbeth?" "No, but I’ve done the Joker.”

So it was the screenplay itself which capsized the film.
The schizophrenic, likely hebephrenic, Arthur Fleck was pushed too far beyond what would be capable of the character introduced in the film’s first half. The uber violent scenes were unnecessary, and likely inserted simply to satisfy the blood, gore and sadism seemingly required by today’s younger audiences. And what was the story’s message? That poor, disenfranchised and envious folks should dispatch with anyone who has made it in society; sort of like Antifa on steroids? Storm the Bastille. Off with their heads. Comparisons were made between Fleck and Travis Bickle of Taxi Driver. Bickle was an oddball, but he had a moral code. And his sense of right and wrong forced him to rescue a girl forced into prostitution, which culminated in a happy ending.

There must have been a lot of indecision and argument about Joker’s ending, because it felt like it was ending 3 or 4 times. The final selection seems to be wide open for a sequel, although Phoenix has stated that he would not entertain another. Still, if a big enough pile of millions were stacked in front of him…

Doc’s rating: Acting 9/10, production 8/10, screenplay 4/10



The trio of ratings you gave are spot on. Screenplay was lacking.



RIP www.moviejustice.com 2002-2010

So it was the screenplay itself which capsized the film. [/size][/font]The schizophrenic, likely hebephrenic, Arthur Fleck was pushed too far beyond what would be capable of the character introduced in the film’s first half. The uber violent scenes were unnecessary, and likely inserted simply to satisfy the blood, gore and sadism seemingly required by today’s younger audiences. And what was the story’s message? That poor, disenfranchised and envious folks should dispatch with anyone who has made it in society; sort of like Antifa on steroids? Storm the Bastille. Off with their heads. Comparisons were made between Fleck and Travis Bickle of Taxi Driver. Bickle was an oddball, but he had a moral code. And his sense of right and wrong forced him to rescue a girl forced into prostitution, which culminated in a happy ending.

There must have been a lot of indecision and argument about Joker’s ending, because it felt like it was ending 3 or 4 times. The final selection seems to be wide open for a sequel, although Phoenix has stated that he would not entertain another. Still, if a big enough pile of millions were stacked in front of him…

Doc’s rating: Acting 9/10, production 8/10, screenplay 4/10
Interesting take. I just watched this AND The Batman (Matt Reeves, 2022) this past weekend.

My rating on The Batman is a B- and my rating for Joker is an A.

One of the biggest differences I noticed was actually the screenplay, because as far as tone - both were going for a more grounded and gritty/grimy feel to them - a dirty Gotham with lots of wear and tear that resembles the real world (or New York City) more than a fictional place - a less cleaned up and polished and more world weary take on the Nolan films - the first of which was wonderful and then the last two were... meh for me with good scenes and moments sprinkled in, but that's another story.

In any event, I liked the screenplay so much more in Joker than in The Batman because it full on character development and with the exception of the Fight Club like moment with his neighbor lady - and even that somehow worked well, it was a film that largely stuck to the rules of "show don't tell." I also appreciated it on this front because the dialogue rarely feel into the trap of being expository and plot driven, which is a major downfall I thought of The Batman.

By having a script where 3/4 of the "plot" was delivered through handwritten letters, newsbroadcasts, and newspaper headlines and articles - it worked well, so well... rather than having characters have conversations where they are explaining things to the audience via a hackneyed conversation with themselves... it's one of the reasons I have often and do dislike the Alfred and Bruce Wayne dynamic because one of two things typically happen in those scenes 1. Expository dialogue about the plot or 2. A lot of forced emotional bonding to punctuate the action scenes.

Joker was spot on with how I like stories to unfold and regarding the violence bit... it takes place in a New York City-esque 1981, so muggings, street beatings, etc fit with the era's crime and so on and I thought it worked well and never seemed forced... no more so than in Taxi Driver when a random guy is screaming saying he's going to murder his wife, or when random people throw items and glass bottles at Travis' cab, or when he walks into the convenience store and shoplifting takes place. Yes, Joker does pay huge homage to films like Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy... as so many reviews have rightfully pointed out, but it's an amazing film with a lot of emotional weight. The stuff with Arthur Fleck and his mother really, really hit hard.

The script was more like a urban drama script and the tone more of a Taxi Driver or even Death Wish than a superhero or rather supervillian film and it works perfectly. I think The Batman tried to capitalize on that just a bit and failed on several levels - although it is a good film to be sure.

Joker is the best "comic book" film since Sin City and is certainly in the running for me as the best comic book film of all time - largely because OF the script not in spite of it.
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