Joker

Joker is a 2019 psychological thriller based on the DC character of the same name. It’s a “what if” story. Because the Joker doesn’t have a cemented origin story, it varies depending on where it’s coming from. This is a more stylized version, revolving around the mental illness of the character Arthur Fleck, and portraying the Joker as a man who gets beaten down by society and eventually loses everything until he descends into madness. It’s not my favorite origin story of the Joker, but it’s done incredibly well. 

The Joker is my favorite comic book character. So, I’m a little judgemental when it comes to subject matter about him. For instance, I hate Jared Leto, for obvious reasons… But I digress. This iteration of the Joker takes you on a journey, from right before he has his bad day, up until he has his bad day. And for anybody who knows any comic book trivia, it’s one of the Joker’s most famous quotes: “That’s all it takes for someone to end up like me… Just one bad day…” Which makes one of the scenes even more ominous near the end, when he surprises Zazie Beetz in her living room, and scares her. He looks at her and says “I had a bad day…” Then they show him leaving the apartment, and you don’t see her for the rest of the movie. It leaves it up in the air whether he killed her or not. 

But for an actor like Joaquin Phoenix to play a role like this, it’s almost serendipitous. He’s such a method actor. He’s so serious about his work. Not that he went out and killed people for the role or anything, but he did lose over 50 pounds to look so emaciated. And that’s dedication, right there. That can’t be healthy. He’s all skin and bones, as they say. The Joker has always been a very lithe character. So, even though the writers and directors wanted Pheonix for the role, he still found it necessary to drop 50 pounds to look even more like the title character.  

And they did want him for the role. They specifically wrote the script for Joaquin Pheonix to act around because of the kind of actor that he is. He portrayed criminal insanity to perfection. There’s not many people that can do that. That really takes talent. From his constant facial expressions to his tone of voice, he has an energy about him in this movie that I really don’t think there was anybody else that could have pulled it off like he did.  

Joker was incredibly successful. Both critically, and monetarily. It won awards when it was released, and is, right now, the second highest selling R-rated movie ever made. And, because of the budget to gross ratio, is the most profitable superhero movie ever made as well. Which was previously held by Deadpool because of its low budget, and surprisingly high marketability.  

So, yeah. Go and see Joker. It’s a fantastic movie. It has some great actors in it. It’s about my favorite character. The script is beautifully written. There’s nothing not to love. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…