8.5 / 10
Pity and sympathy for the devil. A Gotham origin story depicting the character transformation of the criminal mastermind clown with a sadistic sense of humor we all know from the Batman series.
Character –
A complex, close-perspective of the psychopath clown who will one day stand up to dark knight and to the city of Gotham. Mental illness is prevalent within this film, and was handled gracefully with Joaquin Phoenix's exceptional performance – give him the Oscar, ok? Mr. Phoenix gives a constant full body performance with every line, which was remarkable. His posture was twisted and his limbs were sporadic with deranged dance moves. The laugh, an uncontrollably twisted cackle, was PERFECT. Forget about the tatted gangster joker from Suicide Squad - what a breath of fresh air this was.
Plot –
This film added more color and grit to the downfall of Gotham city. Thought-provoking origin story that truly starts from the ground up. Not only with the Arthur Fleck story, but also with Wayne Enterprises and the uprisings later within the city. Thugs, villains, and heroes are born. I especially appreciated understanding the full motive of the Joker villain and learning where it all stemmed from. The timeline seamlessly tied together the Wayne story, and answered many questions of what really happened that night after the opera.
Conflict –
The Joker has some daddy issues. While taking care of his sick mother, it makes sense that he would fixate his father figure needs on a TV show host. The overall film is more of an internal conflict story of how Arthur is battling with his mental illness but also trying to understand the world around him through laughter. Although this is mostly an internal conflict, there are many antagonists along the way that just don’t understand him for who he is. It’s these external conflicts that eventually get Arthur out of the cocoon and burst forth as the criminal mastermind butterfly he is destined to become - The Joker.
Structure –
With a few flash backs now and then, the story was smooth without tearing away much from the main timeline. Not too choppy and had easy to follow transitions. One of my friends said that they felt it was slow leading up to the big conflicting scenes. After seeing it myself, I disagree as I felt that these “slow" scenes were incredibly important to explain Arthur Fleck’s emotions during these moments of conflict.
Dialogue –
No BS dialogue or lame punch lines unlike many of the latest super hero films. Good writers room.
Visuals –
Fantastic visuals that would add depth and layering to each scene. The camera is either close and personal or a great distance from the clown. The lens would twist and turn around him in so many ways that the mood was well translated. Many of the scenes were shot from a low angle in order to heighten Arthur’s emotions. The lighting illuminated dim and dusty settings through the film, which was especially vivid in the subway scenes. Even the scenes where Arthur and his mother are watching late night TV in her bedroom, you felt a cold, dark mood translated through the light of the television. The color pallet was vivid within these dark settings so that the costume reds, oranges and greens would pop. Setting and costume design was wonderfully colorful and gritty.
TL;DR - "too long; didn't read"
Date Flick? – Not really.
Great Flick? – Excellent movie with phenomenal dramatic acting. Go see it!
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