Spoiler Free Movie Review: Joker (2019)
When this was announced, I was in the camp of “we don’t need to see the Joker’s origin. His whole thing is that he has no definitive origin!” After seeing the movie I can say it was totally worth making and, more so, is a masterpiece that transcends the comic book movie genre. I don’t think I’ve seen any other movie like it. Joaquin Phoenix’s performance was incredible and they should just hand him the Oscar right now. I can’t talk about this movie without talking about him as it is his movie as every scene has him as the focal point. The rest of the cast were great in their parts and I thought Robert De Niro was a stand out of the supporting cast especially due to the influence his films (namely Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy) had on this movie. Through Phoenix’s career-defining performance, though, it is clear to see his arc play out from street clown to the Clown Prince of Crime and how those around him affect his mental state throughout the movie. The cinematography and the score were phenomenal and chilling throughout the whole movie. I was unsettled from the first frame to the last and when it started I was worried I’d find it pretentious, but it never crossed my mind again after I was sucked into the film. It was consistently surprising the whole time even in parts that I saw coming a mile away. Also, most of this film isn’t violent at all, but when it is, I think it will stick with you much more than in other movies where the violence can be so casual that you don’t even think about it. This is not that kind of movie. I feel like I have to talk about other Jokers we’ve seen in past DC movies. I wasn’t going to, but there were parts of this movie where I could see clear references to, specifically, Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight. If you’ve seen that film as many times as I have (countless), then there are scenes and lines of dialogue that will spring to mind while watching this movie. I just saw this movie so I can’t compare the Jokers more directly, but obviously none of the others were as fleshed out or had as much screen time as Joaquin’s, so I don’t think it’d be fair anyway. This kind of movie is my favorite in that it sticks with viewers long after leaving the theatre and I can already see myself discussing it with others in the future and debating certain aspects. I hope this movie succeeds where it needs to in order to convince Warner Bros. to make more movies like this and give the creatives the freedom they need to tell wholly original stories about their iconic characters without being beholden to any kind of franchise development. In the end, this isn’t a movie for everyone and I can easily see people leave the movie hating it for whatever reason(s). If you’re interested in a truly dark, character driven, unsettling, thriller with an Oscar-caliber performance accompanied by visually stunning cinematography and a haunting musical score, then this might be the perfect movie for you. Between this and Shazam! (which the absolute opposite of this movie but still great), 2019 turned out to be a great year for DC film fans. Bring on 2020! Rating: 10/10
