Movie Review: “Joker”

“Joker”

Release Date: October 4, 2019

Runtime: 121 mins

Directed by: Todd Phillips

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix

               Robert De Niro 

              Zazie Beetz

             Frances Conroy

About once or twice each year, there will be a movie which, for whatever reason, stirs up quite a large controversy. Arguments and counter-arguments are made before the movie has been screened off of trailer footage and a simple premise. I personally find those arguments frustratingly pointless. The conversation around a movie like this is often not really about the merits of the film itself but rather a thinly veiled, equally insipid political debate. This year, that film is “Joker”. 

In addition to this swirling controversy, “Joker” unexpectedly made waves last month in the film festival circuit, even managing to win the coveted Golden Lion—best film in competition—at the Venice Film Festival. Several of the film critics I respect the most gave it positive reviews, more positive than I would have guessed.  

I tried to go into “Joker” with an open mind. I wanted to form my own opinion. Upon leaving the theater, I was a little disappointed, but I liked it the more I thought of it.

A little context is necessary here. I have a very strong affection for “The Dark Knight” and Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker character in that film is ingrained in my mind. I hold him up almost on a pedestal as the correct version of that character.  For my full review of “Dark Knight”, click here.

“Joker” offers a different take on the titular character. Once I was able to think past my bias, though, I saw the value of this interpretation. It explores the twisted comedian side of the character in more detail than previous iterations while also setting itself apart by telling an origin story. Even though I prefer the Joker character to have a mysterious background, the origin story was overall very well done and the slow transition is extremely well handled. 

Joaquin Phoenix is really the main reason the movie works as much as it does. Of all the reviews I have seen, there was not a single person who did not praise his performance, even those who outright hated the film as a whole. He is pathetic, unhinged and socially inept. You can tell where his character is headed within the first 15 minutes, but you want to watch him get there. His performance in combination with the warped cello score is the best thing “Joker” has to offer. Director Todd Phillips has said he was inspired by the films of Martin Scorcese from the late 70s and early 80s. 1976’s universally praised classic “Taxi Driver” and 1982’s woefully underseen masterpiece “The King of Comedy” are the most obvious influences. At times, this inspiration in story elements and character beats gets quite obnoxious. To state the obvious, Todd Phillips is not as talented a director as Martin Scorcese. Few, if any, living filmmakers are. He is at least competent and even has small flashes of greatness. Overall, the gritty, realistic, crime-drama/character study approach to such an iconic villain’s origins is a compelling choice, even if it is just copying better movies in many places. Hopefully the already apparent success of “Joker” will pave the way for more ambitious comic book movies.

The advertising for “Joker” stressed the film would be stand-alone, and it would not take place in the same universe as the other DC movies. I found this claim to be extremely misleading. Without spoiling anything, the inclusion of a certain character and a certain key event in that character’s life makes the stand-alone label more than a little dishonest.

My biggest problem with “Joker” is the script. There are multiple story details that do not make sense. The series of events leading up to the Joker’s appearance on the talk show is far-fetched. The police detectives only show up when the plot needs them to and, even then, do not call for back-up when they know the man they are chasing has killed numerous people. Also, the Joker/clown-inspired riots do not feel all that natural. I could not quite buy this character being able to rally people to fight for his cause, at least for most of the movie. These are nitpicks, but when the movie goes to such great lengths to feel “realistic,” mistakes like these are harder to ignore. At the same time, there are several brilliant moments of drama and suspense, but I think those moments work because of the great performance at the center. 

I would not call any production element of “Joker” outright bad, but a more consistently amazing script, in addition to the aforementioned fantastic elements,  could have elevated this movie from good to great. 

“Joker” is the kind of movie which desperately wants you to think it has something important to say, but it tries to tackle so many varying themes without fully committing to any of them and ends up not really saying much of anything at all. 

Despite my criticisms, I feel an urge to watch “Joker”  again now that I know exactly what to expect. As of right now, I think it is good, not great, but better than it could have been. Quite a few people absolutely love it though, so definitely check it out if it sounds at all interesting.

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