(poster made by yours truly. Credits, logos and whatever else belong to their respective IP owners)
Good or bad, I knew from its inception that Joker would be a movie worth paying attention to. Superhero movies as a genre have desperately needed to evolve for a long time now. As fun as the Marvel frenzy has been for the past decade or so, it’s worst impulses have led to a state of creative stagnation and (if they don’t break free) I reckon they won’t be staying around for much longer. Yes, even a pitch as gonzo as a supervillain origin story that owes more to names like Scorsese, Lumet and Friedkin than anything on the four-color page is the kind of out there experimentalism I’ve been craving. You better believe I was excited for this.
So much so that I was able to wade through the exhausting pre-release discourse that’s been raging for months on end (a lot of which seems disingenuous or outright misinformed). I don’t want it to take up the whole review. So, I’ll be frank. A good chunk of those who engage in the bafflingly idiotic controversy surrounding the film mainly seem to forget is that there’s a very hard line between empathy and sympathy. Pardon me for repeating myself if I’ve said this before; but, until the moral panic brigades cease to exist, I’m going to keep beating this drum with the force of a thousand suns. Take this to heart, dear reader: DEPICTION DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY EQUAL ENDORSEMENT!
You’d have to be thick as a brick to not tell that our villain protagonist is warped from the start and that the society that fostered him has already failed him. Even before he crosses several lines, it’s completely understandable both why he’s driven to such hideous criminal activities and why the world didn’t particularly care for him in the first place. Does it all feel a bit thin in spots narratively and subtextually? Sure. But, what’s there is absolutely worthy of discussion. The specters of abuse, societal collapse, mental healthcare, and mass violence palpably haunt every frame. That last one in particular seem to be what riles the film’s detractors up the most. Said masses repeatedly cry out “Now’s not the right time for this movie”. Respectfully, I must disagree. I think 2019 couldn’t be a better time for a movie this big to confront these specific issues.
Joker might be stuck in the strange transitional period that was the early 1980s; but, a lot of what it has to say speaks to our current cultural discontent and despair. A billionaire public figure promising salvation yet only delivering more unrest and degradation. Social isolation driving wedges between the common people further and further, day by day. Media talking heads simultaneously demonizing and fetishizing cowardly acts of cruelty against normal people perpetrated by other so-called “normal people”. Anyone else think that sounds even remotely topical or worthy of debate? The best speculative fiction always transports us while still keeping what we’re escaping in the subconscious (although I’d argue this provides purely an indictment on our world rather than a brighter path forward).
Anyway, let’s get back to the brass tacks. The actual nuts and bolts behind this picture’s construction. As everyone else has written ad nauseum elsewhere, Joaquin Phoenix is phenomenal here. I never thought I’d cringe that hard seeing someone laugh; but, here we are. The subtle touches he brings to the role create a frightening portrait of mental illness that rarely dips into outright caricature.
Likewise, the direction courtesy of mainstream comedy veteran Todd Phillips is surprisingly stellar. It all looks like the New York only '70s cinema could capture filtered through a phantasmagorical carnival funhouse mirror. The jarring contrast between the contrasted against harsh yellows, greens, and blues creates a trance-like effect distinguishing it from every other superhero movie out on the market. It’s grimy and raw while maintaining a sense of vibrant color and slick style. Like a lot of my peers, I never would’ve guessed he had this kind of flick in him; but, I’m ecstatic he made it. My only real gripes are a certain third-act plot reveal needing to be handled with more subtlety and grace than it actually receives. Well, that and for all the talk of how this is the “dangerous comic book flick you’re not supposed”, it’s awfully tame (relatively speaking) for the majority of its running time. It always walks the line, never skewing too far one way or the other.
Like I said, I don’t think Joker reaches all of its goals to perfection; but, I respect the hell out of it for trying at the very least. On the whole, it’s solid stuff with a few cracks in the armor; yet, individual moments pack massive punches. Furthermore, I hope it’s success inspires a more interesting step forward. It’s a diamond in the rough to be sure and if there’s one thing I can definitely say in its favor is that it stuck with me (which is more than I can say for the likes of this year’s MCU offerings).
RATING: 8/10
