Joker is a Todd Philip's version of the most iconic and deadliest villains of all times. Its a painful journey of self destruction of a man that eventually led to chaos in a perishing society. The film is interested in the mental, moral, emotional, physical make-up of the man who became the Joker
Joaquin Phoenix's brutal and feral performance of Joker rocks your world as a viewer. Heath Ledger left a mark as Joker and Phoenix takes Joker to whole new level altogether. Having lost weight for the role, he looks thin, frail, hungry. Shadows carve out his exposed bones. You sympathize, empathize and finally are enraged as an audience to see the evolution of struggling clown/comedian Arthur Fleck to a heavily feared anti-hero Joker !!
Gotham is torn and shattered from its pomp as the movie shows a stark reality of the divide between the rich and poor. A world where rich grow richer and poor grow poorer. To an extent is the economic fall that financial amenities and basic medic aids are stripped for the less fortunate. This is the crucial crux point especially for a mental psychosis suffering Arthur Fleck who needs money for rent, bills and his medicines that keep him in check.
The movie does touch upon varied plots like unemployed youth lead to increase in picketing and crimes, easy access to guns in the name of feeling protected and most importantly mental psychosis .
There is a partial storyline where the movie begins to justify Arthur's random killings as "justice for harassment/torture". Robert De Niro's role as a TV show host is also flamboyant and is used very wisely to ask the same very questions to Arthur's recklessness that worries you as a viewer .
Somehow, its true that the very economical divide and poverty has contributed in the downfall of Arthur's life along with his personal tragic relation of his mentally ill mother . However, the storyline subtly shows that the rise of Joker stems from Arthur's need to be recognized and respected even if it has to at the cost of deaths and chaos. So much was Arthur's growing narcissistic desire of recognition that he single-handedly through his acts, causes riots in Gotham where the poor attack the rich.
A special mention to the musical score and the cinematography . Especially the scenes of Arthur/ Joker crossing paths with both Thomas and young 6 year old Bruce Wayne( to the unknown Batman). Its beautiful, captivating to see that 6 year old that saw his parents being shot dead in mindless act of gun violence will grow up to be the future savior of Gotham unlike Arthur who in life's difficulties chose to use gun violence to grow into Joker!
"Joaquin has risen like a Phoenix" may sound a bit cliched, but it holds true for his performance in this movie.
A few aspects (open to debate) about this movie however were,
- In my opinion, even Thomas Wayne seems to have a dark side to him.
- The age gap shown between Joker & Bruce Wayne seems to be on a higher side.
There have been many origin stories about the Joker in various comics / animated series, but we as fans, can accept this to be a good origin story, such that I can name my review title as Joker Begins :)
The reason I say this is because there is a logical medical condition known as pseudobulbar affect (PBA) which the lead character is said to suffer from, is a condition characterized by an involuntary and uncontrollable reaction of laughter or crying that's disproportionate to an event.
The world needs stories like these to make one realize that life may always not be fair to you but it is what you choose to be during such trials an Arthur Fleck/Joker or Bruce Wayne/Batman! A definite watch for the fans.