Joker ( 2019 )
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Joker (2019) is a Psychological thriller film directed and produced by Todd Philips. The film, based on DC Comics stars Joaquin Phoenix as a failed stand-up comedian named Arthur Fleck living in the decaying city of Gotham whose descent into insanity and violence inspires the poor to lead a revolution against the wealthy. Having watched Taxi Driver(1976) directed by Martin Scorsese, I felt a lot of similarity between both the films, In fact, Todd Phillips was inspired by two of Martin Scorsese’s works of the 1970s which focused mainly on the character study of the lead characters. The graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke was used as a foundation for the movie’s plot.
The Joker is the first live action DC movie to get a R- rating, and it requires a mature viewing. It gives DC’s infamous character a rather sympathetically driven story. Gotham is shown as a city struggling to hold the balance between two extremes of the community, in the midst of all this chaos and struggle is Arthur, an aspiring stand-up comedian living with his mom. Joker is a brutal and gritty drama, often being misunderstood to be ‘Disturbing’. Yes, the Joker is dark and the mental illness portrayed by the character divided opinions, but I honestly feel the movie wouldn’t have been the same without those elements.The violence and grittiness that the film carries forward over each upcoming scene only builds the intensity and the suspense. In fact, The character Joker shown in the comics is indeed a violent psychopath. Critics and audiences compared Joaquin Phoenix’s performance to that of Heath Ledger’s in his most critically acclaimed role as the Joker in The Dark Knight(2008) for which he was posthumously awarded the Oscar. Both their performances as the Joker were indeed marvellous and earned them both an Academy award each.
Personally, I feel the Joker should be hailed as a modern classic. There is something beautiful in the way it is filmed. For a week or so, I was left on a high and almost trippy feel. Joker was my personal favourite from last year’s releases and would remain in my best-loved movies from the last decade. The stairway dance was the one scene which startled me, this was ‘The Joker which we hadn’t seen before’ not in the comics nor in the movies. The Clown Prince of Crime is indeed a complex and experimental character which when brought alive on screens will never fail to entertain us.
#jokerfans #joker #batman #DC #jokermovie
