I wasn't sure to write an article about this masterpiece because honestly, I wouldn't know where to start. There are simply too many things to say about this movie, but I will try to make a concise article about it anyway.
Among the things that I consider necessary to discuss we obviously have the spectacular work that Joaquin Phoenix does as the Joker, or rather, as the pre-Joker for reasons that I will explain later in the article. We can also discuss possible theories that offer a different interpretation of what we see on the screen, and finally, we could theorize about the reasons why this film has had such an impact, and why many people find it uncomfortable to watch it.
Let's start with the topic of Joaquin Phoenix. This is clearly a popular actor although personally I had never paid too much attention to him. In fact, a few years ago when I saw the movie "Her", I wasn't even aware of the actor's name. A few days before seeing the Joker, I decided watching 2 movies with this actor, specifically these movies were called "We own the night" and "The Master". Previously I had seen the one called "You were never really here", which similar to the classic "Taxi Driver" with De Niro.
Of all these, the one that I liked the most was "The Master", and it is the one that has the best performance of Phoenix that I have watched so far, not including Joker of course. But his performances weren't as amazing as the performances, for example, of Christian Bale in the early 2000s.
Even so, my "hype" didn't stop growing when reading and rereading critics about the incredible performance of Phoenix, and after having seen the film I can say the positive reviews were right. What a show it is to see this actor playing the pre-Joker and the entire process of mental and moral degeneration the character is experiencing as the movie progresses.
I think the training he had to have to imitate the typical laughter of the Joker and making it seem so natural is very close to what Colin Firth achieved with his stuttering in the movie "The King's Speech". A work that by the way, earned him an Oscar for best actor. Of course, a character like the Joker is much more than just unstoppable laughter, it is also madness, frustration and even sadness that end up degenerating into an embodied crime bomb. Joaquin Phoenix, of course, does an excellent job showing all this on-screen.
The best scene in the movie for me is the one with the stairs. A scene so iconic that even many people have gone to the same place to take pictures and record themselves trying to imitate the Joker. The good thing about this scene, which I leave the link below for you to see, is that it symbolizes the sudden freedom the character feels, and the final transition from the pre-Joker to the totally unleashed Joker. This scene doesn't contain spoilers. All we see is the Joker coming down some stairs, but if you want to reserve yourself and wait to see the full movie to enjoy it properly and with the necessary context, no problem.
https://twitter.com/sherlwatson/status/1185238427337449473
I could only find this scene on Twitter, but if someone has another source, you are free to share it. It is difficult to get these scenes because the movie has not yet been digitally released.
The reasons why I use the term pre-Joker and not Joker, is because for a large part of the movie Phoenix doesn't play a criminal, but a potential criminal who has mental and family problems. Phoenix doesn't start the movie as a character as degenerated as the Joker.
This movie has its place in the history of cinema and surpasses other films about psychological degeneration such as The Shining or The machinist. The Joker is on another level.
Let's now discuss possible alternative theories about what we see on screen, although since I know using spoilers is rude, the only thing I can write is that the mental imbalance of this character may affect not only what he sees, but also what we see on-screen. Of course, this is a topic discussed only by fans, and this is generally left to everyone's interpretation. At the end of the post I will leave an article in Spanish where this topic is further expanded.
What we have left to discuss, is probably the most controversial point of the entire post because it can have political connotations, or in other words, our political ideas can influence the way we see the film and the way we theorize the reasons for its impact on people.
The film has had an impact first because it is simply very well acted and very well directed, but the Joker goes one step further, because the fascination it generates in many people is not explained just because it is very well acted or because DC Comics fans can finally see the origins of the most famous villain on the big screen, no, it is also explained by the messages the film shows about defects in human societies today. Especially about the tragic lack of guidance, sympathy and help towards men who are lost in their lives and the possible catastrophic consequences this malfunction of society can have. Not surprisingly, in this story the Joker had no father.
I guess people who don't like to face uncomfortable truths will feel, excuse me the redundancy, uncomfortable to see the Joker. On the other hand, in my opinion, people who prefer to see the world as it is and who have no problem with the "politically incorrect", can understand in a more accurate way how this film can relate to the real world, and therefore, can appreciate this movie at a much deeper level.
The articles that I mentioned in the post are the following:
The first is written in Spanish by Juan C. Sosa Azpúrua and contains many spoilers. He wrote the whole story of what happens in the film but with very interesting observations, so it is preferable to read it after having seen the film: https://ideasjcsa.com/2019/10/12/joker-la-vida-es-sueno/
The other article, this one in English, is written by Milo Yiannopoulos and details many possible links between what we see in the movie and trends we see in the real world. It is also advisable to read it after watching the movie: https://summit.news/2019/11/01/why-im-counting-on-generation-joker/
Both are highly recommended readings.
More info about this movie: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/475557-joker My review: AAA
