4 Stars
Since Cesar Romero's first on-screen portrayal of the Joker in the Adam West's Batman television series in 1966, every actor who took on the role of the Caped Crusader and everyone who wore the white painted face of his arch nemesis Joker has been debated over who did it best; and, sometimes, who did it worst. After Adam West, of course, Tim Burton cast Michael Keaton as billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne with the iconic Jack Nicholson as the psychotic clown, bringing new life and depth and realism to the comic book characters.
Val Kilmer and George Clooney took the beautiful, dark realistic world of Gotham back to a 1960's level of campy and absurd as they both made strong cases among critics as to who would be the worst Batman. It's still a pretty close race.
Christopher Nolan re-vitalized the franchise, but not how he originally intended. He fought to get up-and-coming actor Heath Ledger to put on the pointy-eared Bat Costume, but Ledger passed and Christian Bale took the role. The disappointment turned to triumph, however, in the second of the Nolan Batman trilogy as Ledger gave a masterful performance as Joker.
Jared Leto took the character in another direction in Suicide Squad and Shameless actor Cameron Monaghan did so in the TV series Gotham. And, while there are heated debates over which Batman was portrayed best, and also who failed in their attempts, the arguments for best Joker are harder since each was so unique and successful in their own way at their own time. And I have not heard of many arguments for who was the worst Joker.
Well, now you can add Joaquin Phoenix to the list of memorable, palpable, unique visions for Joker brought to life. Set in Gotham in the 1970s, we are introduced to failed comedian Arthur Fleck who works odd jobs as a clown to try to make ends meet and support his aging mother. The film opens with a group of punk kids stealing Fleck's advertisement sign he is being paid to hold. He chases them down, but when he catches up to him, they give him a severe beating. The next scene shows Fleck on a public bus sitting behind a young boy and his mother. Fleck makes a couple funny faces to the child's delight. The mother quickly chides him for bothering them. He tries to explain that he wasn't bothering the boy, but the intense feeling of judgment and anger coming from the mother sends Fleck into an uncontrollable fit of awkward laughter. He hands the mother a card that explains he suffers from a medical condition that forces him to laugh inappropriately and that his external outbursts are not a reflection of his actual feelings.
Fleck dreams of making it big as a comedian like his idol, talk show host Murray Franklin (Robert DeNiro). We are brought along on his tragic journey into darkness as the attacks on his physical body, his emotional well-being and his very soul are relentless. Each time we think a glimmer of something good is going to happen for Fleck, it is quickly snatched away from either Fleck or from the audience member. Whether he is successfully entertaining patients in a hospital, being acknowledged and welcomed by Murray, meeting a nice girl who takes an interest in him, or getting a few laughs during his attempt at stand-up comedy, he either wakes from the daydream or somehow ruins the moment himself.
After one such incident, he is on a train heading home, dejected once again. Three Wall Street frat boys are harassing a woman on the train. Of course Fleck can't help but laugh. The woman gets away, but the boys deliver another beating. And that's the straw that broke his back. He pulls out a revolver and kills all three of them in a scene that really messes with the audience's emotions. You hate the boys for the way they treat the woman. You sympathize with Fleck who has not done anything wrong. You hate the boys even more for beating him down and feel even worse for Fleck than you did a moment ago and you hope and pray they don't get away with it. But when he pulls out the gun and shoots them, it's a shock. It is the brutal justice you were hoping for, but now are questioning if that's really how you wanted it.
And that begins, the decent into psychosis, but also the praise and adoration for the vigilante clown. The acclaim of his persona and the justification of his action further propels him into his more confident, take-no-crap, dole-out-justice clown alter-ego, the Joker.
The film is intense, tragic, deliberate, methodical, sad and horrifying. Phoenix's portrayal does what no other Joker has done by extensively creating a detailed back-story leading up to his existence. A story that gains your sympathy and compassion and understanding of who he is and why. You don't support his gruesome actions, but you can't completely condemn them either.
Joker is filled with both classic hits from Frank Sinatra, Cream, Fred Astaire, Jimmy Durante and more from the 1970's. But the film's score is mostly a lone cello that is haunting, unsettling, disturbing and perfectly appropriate for Fleck. Peter and the Wolf used very specific instruments for each character in the story. Films like Star Wars created theme songs for its main characters. Without even looking, you would know who was on the screen just by hearing their song. The dull, but intentional cello is the perfect score for Fleck.
My only critique from the previews versus the actual film is that it doesn't really prepare you for the graphic violence at the hands of the insane clown. Not that I have a problem with it. Nicholson and Ledger's characters were both violent to the degree they were allowed at the time of their filming. And not that the violence isn't completely warranted for the character or the story and not just there for the sake of violence. I just wasn't prepared for that from the previews.
Joker was emotionally draining, it was tragically sad and disturbingly brutal, both what Fleck endured and what he inflicted. Phoenix was convincing, captivating and brilliant in his performance that lands him as an early contender for Best Actor once the Oscars are announced. And, though we're just getting started with Oscar season, it's not hard to see Joker being nominated for several others including Best Picture. I originally gave Joker a 4 Star Prediction. Based on one of my criteria for grading, I would be inclined to knock it down a half star for the slightly less-than-honest preview. But Phoenix's performance would bring that right back up again. I'm going to stick with my original estimation and give Joker a sold 4 Stars. It was well worth the money in the theatres, it's one I'm still talking about and will be analyzing for days to come, I'd like to see it again, and it has a strong chance of making it to my home collection. So, what movie will be on my mind next? We shall see.
