Joker (2019) Movie Review (Thoughts)
Joker (2019)
Like many who've already posted online, Joker is probably a film in a very long time, that took so much time for me to process and reflect. The film is a pinnacle achievement in writing that's so consistent from the start to end. This is a film about one man and one man only. Nothing more, nothing less!
Given that films have become such large a force to reckon with, it's inevitable that they affect major portion of the society. However, the means by which each film is consumed differs across individuals. After all, art is subjective. The pre-release vibes of this film was divided. One section was expecting a Joker like the one we had in Nolan's Dark Knight - a pure evil chaotic antagonist. Other section almost idolized and romanticized the Joker as some sort of a rebel against the cruelties of today's world - the same type of reception that Tyler Durden has been receiving since 1999. Thankfully, as opposed to the presumtions of the two sections, Joaquin Phoenix's Joker character was written with an arc that travelled more on the inward side than expanding outwards towards the society. It was more of what 'they' did to the Joker instead of the opposite, thanks to the writers Todd Phillips and Scott Silver.
Another important reason to celebrate this film would be the depiction of mental illness and mental health. Here's an actual psychopath film that neither tries justifying him/her with back stories nor making him realising his plight at the end. He's completely self aware of his condition and doesn't shy away from accepting it. Apart from the numerous other things that the film goes on to convey to the masses, this is probably one implicit takeaway that is definitely the need of the hour.
As for the revolution that gets triggered because of the Joker's actions, the writers just hit a bulls eye with their juxtaposition. The phrase "We're all clowns here" gets conveyed to us right at the beginning and then there's this 'masked' revolution of the masses that gets triggered because of one 'face painted' man's search for himself. This was metaphor at its best. And this was the point where the film almost became a spiritual mirror image of sorts to Scorcese's Taxi Driver where the revolution is by a single man and the trigger is the entire society outside. To top it all, it was great that the Joker wasn't glorified at the end of all of this. Instead what we get is a shot of his counterpart standing beside his dead parents. A great lead to the upcoming Robert Pattinson Batman film indeed!
Her, the master and now Joker. Joaquin Phoenix has already completed a holy trinity in acting and it's such a delight to see him in action. The cinematography and the authenticity in production design almost perfectly created the fictional city of Gotham.
Joker definitely would be a film that would grow on us due to the subtexts in the writing. And it is much more than the romanticized celebration of the character in our pop culture. It's almost like a melancholic poem - sad, but beautiful.
Don't f̶o̶r̶g̶e̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ smile! ❣️
Comments