So......
I got a bit late. Well a lot late in getting time for this review, I saw this movie few days after release. Unfortunately my schedule prevented me from sitting down and penning my thoughts on this one earlier. I apologize for that but without further delay, here we go....
So Joker is a movie based on the popular sociopath antagonist of Batman series. This movie doesn't have any superhero stuff, its more of an origin story for Joker. Considering the popularity this character has garnered over the decades, right through Jack Nicholson's portrayal leading up to Heath Ledger's Joker, you would be hard put to find a soul who has not heard about the Joker of Gotham city.
So, many people have been comparing Joaquin Phoenix's Joker to Heath Ledger's joker which in my opinion is completely unfair. What you should keep in mind while watching Joaquin Phoenix's Joker is that the time frame of this movie precedes Ledger's Joker by more than a decade. This is origin story of joker, so we see the (partially) sane side of him, the side that struggles against the world and its immorality. Against the wrongs, the society heaps on people without caring whether they deserve it or not. The movie is typically anti-society because it shows the common people in bad light. Whether the common people are really bad is a matter of perspective. But small things like getting bullied, or cheated or backstabed by friends and family are pointed out as the cause for Arthur Fleck's downward spiral.
As a personal perspective, I don't see these issues causing anyone to spiral so out of control as to become a madman seeking destruction of society per se. But since Arthur Fleck is not mentally stable, or normal (having negative thoughts all the time is a sign of needing help), his unraveling is understandable even though not justified. The movie wants us to feel sorry for people like him, people who are not mentally stable, it makes a point of trying to drive this home that the society should magically be aware of every mentally unstable person among them and be kind towards them. This is a very far fetched expectation. We walk around, thinking we are surrounded by normal folk, folks who are beaten and bruised by the world but they don't start killing people to vent out their anger. Life is not about expecting only good things, or finding only nice people. 90% of people we meet throughout our life are complete pricks. And they are unapologetic about it because for them, this is normal. They judge us for being over sensitive and maybe even take us for a coward. But that doesn't mean we pick a gun and start shooting people.
I am not trying to make a point against the movie. I loved it but I don't think its motivations were correct. Anyways, the movie is well made, there are moments of fun, sadness, dancing, romance, depression and destruction, not to mention some violence here and there. If we look at Ledger's joker, he is at the height of his insanity, no morals, no ethics. He is the criminal mastermind we all love.
Phoenix's Joker is not like that and for good reason, he is a sociopath, in the process of becoming the psychopath we all know. We must look at Ledger's Joker as the full ripe fruit, and Phoenix's Joker as the seed in the process of becoming the fruit. That is the only justice we need to do with this film. While seeing Joker, I do realize that, this guy doing all this weird stuff on the screen, has every chance of becoming Ledger's Joker. And I would not mind a sequel with Joaquin Phoenix trying to show us a similar peak of madness that Ledger succeeded in portraying. Now if that sequel comes, it should rightly be compared to Ledger's Joker. This Joaquin Phoenix's deserves to be seen and judged as a standalone story. I give this movie a thumbs up, and would recommend it if you are a mature adult who can maintain the difference between movies and reality. Even then, the phenomenon will affect you adversely. I was affected for a whole day before I regained my normal demeanor. You might be luckier.
Story:9
Presentation:9.5
Acting:9
Build Up:8
Climax:10
That adds up to 45.5 out of 50. A good 9.1 stars for this one.
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