“Is it just me, or are things are getting crazier out there?”
One of the year’s most anticipated movies “Joker” has finally arrived. While the character of Joker has appeared in many different forms and versions over the past decade, he was never given his own movie.
The idea of comic book villains leading their own film may have sounded absurd a few years ago, but with the recent financial success of Marvel and Sony’s “Venom,” it seems like a no-brainer to give the ‘clown prince of crime’ his own feature.
“Joker” follows Arthur Fleck, a man who is mentally challenged living with his mother in Gotham City and barely getting by. While working as a clown and trying to start a stand-up comedy career, he finds himself continually beaten down physically and mentally, with sanity slowing being lost in the process.
“Joker” has recently been in the news for its controversial themes and message. While, admittedly, the film is framed in a way that gives off a strange, unsettling message, one could argue about what the filmmakers were really trying to say for days, so I won’t let this affect my review.
This film is one of the best films I have seen in a while, technically speaking. The cinematography by Lawrence Sher is truly a work of art. It feels like you could pause the movie at literally any frame and have it sold as a painting.
The film also has an outstanding score by Hildur Guðnadóttir. The music almost always perfectly matches the feeling and mood of whatever scene it is paired with. The film’s soundtrack, however, is hit or miss. While most of the song choices work really well, a few left me scratching my head, wondering what the editor and director were thinking.
I’m honestly blown away that writer and director Todd Phillips did such a fantastic job writing and directing “Joker.”
Phillips is best known for his work on the “Hangover” franchise and other comedies such as 2006’s “Borat.” While his last film 2016’s “War Dogs” was slightly more serious in tone than his other comedies, I was unsure if he had it in him to do a full psychological thriller. Turns out he did.
Every performance in the film was outstanding, with Joaquin Phoenix obviously stealing the show. His portrayal of mental illness and the slow dive into insanity was truly something to watch. Other actors in the film did a fine job, but the movie is really 90 percent Phoenix. Thankfully, his performance is good enough that he is able to carry the film.
The film is not perfect, however.
While it is only a little over two hours, it definitely felt like it dragged in a few scenes. Some editing choices were also a bit off putting towards the end of the film. And, of course, there’s the issue of the film’s main message, but overall, I didn’t find it to be much of a problem.
Overall, “Joker” is an incredibly impressive film. While it makes sense why it would spark the amount of controversy that it has, I don’t think that the controversy was warranted enough to really affect my enjoyment of the film.
The film’s cinematography, score, writing and acting all come together to make a film that is definitely worth seeing. Whether or not you end up loving or hating the film, your take-away opinion is up in the air.
4/5 Stars
