Joker
Rating: 3.5/5
Duration: 1 hour 62 minutes
Director: Todd Phillips
Genre: Adventure, Action Suspense, Mystery, Drama
Release Date: 02.10.2019
Star Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Marc Maron, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen
Plot: Back in the 1980s, an ongoing war involving class or status is taking place in Gotham. Rich and privileged people are seen making paltry judgments regarding poverty. Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) works as a professional clown and struggles to earn money for a living. However, when he is scorned, bullied, and refused to be seen by this ruthless world, Arthur becomes lonely and isolated. Gradually, his mask of goodwill and sanity slips off and he lands up in a state of madness. Ultimately, Arthur turns into the epic criminal mastermind, Joker.
Review: The movie Joker is the story of the origin of one among the iconic and baffling DC villains. Many actors have played the role of this character and each one has introduced something fresh and unique. After the remarkable acting of Jared Leto (Suicide Squad), Phoenix attempts to bring back the Joker in a haunting, unsettling, and terrifying performance.
While trying to humanize its antagonist at the beginning, the film does not glorify him at all. The sympathy and empathy vanish through the movie and a feeling of fear comes in. The movie is also a peculiar warning of critical dangers of unattended mental sickness.
Joker is basically a single-man film manifesting amplified cameos by Zazie Beetz and Robert De Niro. Phoenix is amazingly brilliant in his performance that surely deserves an Oscar. The eyes of the character haunt you and showcase the struggle he is having with the demons inside him. We do not often get to watch a performer who can exhibit fear and terror with joyful movements. The laughs of the character are not funny and he has a multitude of laughter, starting from the loud cackle to the harsh guffaw. All his laughs showcase how dead Arthur is from within.
Of course, the movie has got its share of weaknesses and flaws. Certain scenes seem to have been forced hard into the movie. Arthur’s meeting with Bruce Wayne and the speech of Thomas Wayne on poverty are some of the problematic segments of Joker. Moreover, certain dialogues seem repetitive.
Overall, Joker is indeed an excellent movie, not due to the things that it offers, but due to the things that it withholds. It is beautiful, brave, and of course, worth a watch!
