REVIEW: The Phenomenon and Controversy of "Joker"

A hard-R movie version of a popular comic book character. It's happened before with Blade, Deadpool, Wolverine, and even Batman. (Just look up the "Ultimate Edition" of Batman v Superman, if you don't believe that last one.) But perhaps no such film in recent memory has generated so much hype, so much bold and daring filmmaking, or so much controversy as director Todd Phillips' take on perhaps the greatest comic book villain ever created.

Phillips (whose previous credits include raunchy comedies like The Hangover trilogy and War Dogs) and star Joaquin Phoenix reportedly diverted from the source material of Batman's most iconic adversary (created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane Jerry Robinson in 1940) to deliver an original, psychological thriller less in common with the Batman mythos and more so with gritty 1970s cinema a la Martin Scorcese's Taxi Driver and Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange.

Set in a 1981 version of Gotham City (filming was based in New Jersey), Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) lives a lonely existence, working as a street clown while moonlighting as a failed comedian, all while he battles his own mental illness, whether from his illness, from a twisted relationship with his mother, from stalking his neighbor (a single mother), from the impoverished and chaotic status of Gotham, or all of the above. Phoenix's uncontrollable laughter (and higher-pitched voice) for this particular character is creepy and dark, ditto the way he contorts his body and gives himself a fake smile. Arthur's life and mind take a shocking turn from an incident on a subway train, when he shoots and kills three upper-class businessmen (a reverse clash of sorts between the rich and the "freaks").

Make no mistake, Joker (not to mention Phoenix's committed performance) is riveting and phenomenal, with many considering it a bold and original piece of cinema. It walks a tightrope between tragedy and dark comedy, and not just from its intense and thunderous score or its gritty and stirring cinematography. As Kubrick was known for subverting music and imagery in most of his films, Phillips incorporates classic, upbeat songs like Jimmy Durante's version of "Smile," Gary Glitter's "Rock & Roll, Part 2," and Frank Sinatra's "Send In the Clowns" to twisted effect.

Arthur Fleck dancing in a restroom

Like most of the character's comic book storylines, Joker presents merely everything about the villain's backstory and nothing as Arthur slowly takes a nihilistic downward spiral into madness, all while keeping it ambiguous and interpretive: Is he the Joker, or one of several? Is he the inspiration for the Joker? Also, who really created the Joker. Was it an ignorant society, or was it Arthur himself? Or was it all in his head? Or was it all of the above combined?

Some of these themes reiterate elements of Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film, including unexpected connections (or perhaps not) between the Clown Prince of Crime and the Wayne family, suggesting that Gotham was much darker before Bruce Wayne became the Caped Crusader. (This interpretation--or at least some of the ideas here--is going to anger a lot of people.) On the other hand, this film's portrayal of Thomas Wayne sometimes comes across as ignorant and negative; other times, not so much, despite a few other unnecessary connections.

"Is it just me, or is it getting crazier out there?"

Others, meanwhile, will find Joker just chilling and disturbing, which it is.

Way before its October 4th theatrical opening this year, many have considered the release of a film like Joker to be ill-timed, and have even criticized it for endorsing shocking violence and subject matter (e.g., incel violence, killing sprees or uprisings in clown masks), and for putting an empathetic view on an antiheroic character (a la Travis Brickle or Michael Corleone). And it's not hard to see why, considering the nationwide shootings and similar media in recent years. For one thing, survivors and families of the 2012 Aurora shootings, where James Holmes opened fire on an audience attending an advanced screening of The Dark Knight Rises, issued a letter to Warner Bros regarding their concern over the film's release. The studio issued a statement in response,

Gun violence in our society is a critical issue, and we extend our deepest sympathy to all victims and families impacted by these tragedies. Our company has a long history of donating to victims of violence, including Aurora, and in recent weeks, our parent company joined other business leaders to call on policymakers to enact bi-partisan legislation to address this epidemic.

In addition,

Warner Bros. believes that one of the functions of storytelling is to provoke difficult conversations around complex issues . . . Make no mistake: neither the fictional character Joker, nor the film, is an endorsement of real-world violence of any kind. It is not the intention of the film, the filmmakers or the studio to hold this character up as a hero.

AMC Theater's disclaimer on Joker

Phillips has stated one of his intentions with the film was not "to push buttons . . . I literally described to Joaquin [Phoenix] at one point . . . , 'Look at this as a way to sneak a real movie in the studio system under the guise of a comic book film.’ It wasn’t, ‘We want to glorify this behavior.’ It was literally like, ‘Let’s make a real movie with a real budget and we’ll call it [expletive] Joker’. That’s what it was.” Phoenix (who reportedly lost 45 lbs for the role), meanwhile, stated that "he wanted his version of the Joker to be extremely complex, so he did extensive research on various personality disorders so that even psychiatrists would not be able to identify what his character was."

To its credit, security around movie theaters during the film's release has been very good, with one report of a theater patron who stopped a disrupting theater attendee. And I applaud the many theater chains who posted disclaimers warning theater patron's of the film's mature content and atypical version of a comic book movie.

Still, that doesn't diminish the level of anarchy and chaos in the film: heart-pounding, on-the-edge-of-your-seat, stomach-churning. Not to mention a nerve-wracking and polarizing ending. This is the kind of film that will take days to recover from. Ironically, it'll stay with you for various reasons, like the above poster with the now-iconic image of Arthur first appearing in Joker makeup while dancing down a flight of stairs.

And that's no joke.