Joker (2019) Movie Review

 

This is the review of the latest controversial comic book movie “joker” directed by todd phillips and stars joaquin phoenix as arthur fleck a man who feels disregarded by everyone around him he works as a sign twirl ER he points people towards deals dressed up like a clown he lives in a ratty old apartment with a sick mother he's often beaten up on the streets and because of all this his world slowly begins to crumble and he finds himself being pushed towards violence there has been so much talk and discourse surrounding, this movie and all of it has been a joy. Because in films past as you know whenever that character was involved in the movie Batman was also there so there was a good and evil presence now we're just focusing on this person and his origin and at first I was a little adverse to that because I loved the idea of the Joker not really having an origin I loved him being a constant the idea that he has just always been this way and his past is so murky that he's even more terrifying

Joaquin Phoenix in particular is mesmerizing everything I had heard about his performance is true and yet he somehow still surprised me he is deserving of an Oscar nomination based off of the other performances that I've seen so far in 2019 the film leans very heavily into this being a character that is downtrodden in life you do feel sympathy for him because you understand just how shitty his life has been based off of this portrayal and that could be dangerous you could fall into being a bit sappy or syrupy you know asking for too much sentimentality for this guy making you feel sorry for him constantly but Joaquin Phoenix and his performance treads that line really beautifully because even when you feel like damn feel bad for you because your life, you also see this brewing darkness behind his eyes where you no longer feel bad for him you actually are getting scared of this guy and it is a very realistic and probable portrayal of how somebody might become somebody like the Joker you understand why he decides to choose a life of crime over anything else because life has never really given him something else to live for and just when he thought there could be no other Joker laughs or another take at this laughs Phoenix once again surprises with something that feels painful like there are times where he's laughing and then you can tell that his throat catches and he starts coughing and he holds his chest like laughing this hard is actually physically painful for him. The movie is also really well shot the cinematography the color palette beautiful gorgeous movie doesn't feel like a comic book film feels like a drama because it is a drama I wouldn't even really call this a thriller this is absolutely a character study and its inspirations. some people have addressed concerns that this film perhaps glorifies violence or condones violence or makes you feel sympathy for this character and makes you understand and even side with him when he does horrible things those are valid concerns.

But overall, with Joaquin Phoenix's excellent performance Todd Phillips and his sure hand behind the camera the gorgeous cinematography the great score this is a really good movie