Joker Movie Review

Joker (2019)

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Written by: Todd Phillips & Scott Silver (written by),  Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson (based on characters created by)
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Shea Whigham
Rated: R
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Plot
In Gotham City, mentally troubled comedian Arthur Fleck is disregarded and mistreated by society causing his descent into insanity and nihilism that inspires a violent counter-cultural revolution.

Verdict
An amazing looking film, every shot looks great. Arthur's life crumbles and while the movie considers some of the causes of his breakdown, the ultimate conclusion is unsettling. The realistic depiction of the Joker's origin separates this from a comic book movie, but also stereotypes those with mental illness and feelings of isolation. Batman usually stops the Joker, but in this movie chaos and murder grant Joker exactly what he wants with no repercussions.
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Review
What makes this movie disturbing is the absence of Batman, the force of good, to balance the Joker and vanquish the bad. The Joker wins in this story, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. The movie isn't purporting that the Joker presents a blue print to get what you want, but there aren't any consequences for the Joker. He succeeds in exactly the way he wants through murder and terrorism.

I can't emphasize enough how good this movie looks. In the first few scenes I was impressed with the imagery and score. You can pause this at any point and have a striking image. There's a trash strike so trash bag are everywhere, presenting a decaying city which adds to the mood. It's the '80s and New York just seems meaner back then by either perspective or pop culture.

Joaquin Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck aka Joker.

Arthur is clearly unhappy. He's beaten up by a group of kids and his job isn't great. It's a miserable existence. Then a group of young white collar guys attack him. This is a turning point as Arthur defends himself against the white collar guys, but the empowerment the gun gives him and the confidence he has after killing is questionable. Would his confidence change that quickly? Is violence the answer?

Due to budget cuts Arthur is dumped on the street and no longer talks to a case worker. It seemed like this movie was going to make a statement about mental illness and the lack of care, but it never does. It's a complex issue and the movie doesn't do it justice.
This movie never got as deep into Joker's head as I expected. Joker is tortured and we see the external factors, but I wanted to see more of the internal. I get defending himself was a turning point, but there should be a few more scenes of escalation between his self defense and the movie's conclusion. It's never clear just how delusional he is. The movie trades plot for violence.

This movie is heavily influence by Scorcese's King of Comedy and Taxi Driver, de Niro and the setting just reinforce that. Though those movies handle the protagonist's split from reality better. Maybe it's not the split, but this revolution that arises around Joker. Thinking about this movie while writing the review, it seemed like the Joker made a big leap from self defense to mass terrorism, but that's not true. His terrorism is a result of personal vendettas. He attacks those that have lied, harmed, and mocked him. The terrorism is a movement inspired by his initial attack, but it obscures the Joker's plot to a degree. It's this movement that provides Joker the acclaim he wants.

Joaquin Phoenix is amazing in this movie. He lost a lot of weight for the role, but in every scene you just feel bad for his character. He's a presence on screen, and he's why you feel bad for this character.

Thomas Wayne plays a key point in the story. This movie is an interesting perspective. He's a face of the revolt against the rich.
Bruce Wayne reveres his dad and this story posits that's not wholly earned. I don't know why every Batman or Batman adjacent movie needs to include Batman's origin story. The scene was out of place, and it only showed us what we've seen many times before. If the scene isn't going to be fresh, don't include it.

Joker finally gets the audience he always wanted. This doesn't follow through on mental illness other than highlighting that Arthur was a danger to society that fell through the cracks. The system and lack of support can't take the full blame. A big part of Arthur's break was his mother's lies and delusions.  I get why people don't like the violence in this as it is little more than glorification. The realism tilt makes it all the more problematic. The scary thought is that someone sees this and goes one step further than just identifying with Arthur.
So many comic movies rely solely on the source material as the draw, but I would like this movie just as much if it were completely divorced from the Batman universe. It doesn't need that connection to stand on its own. In interview Todd Phillips stated he wanted to do a character study and camouflaging it as a comic book movie was they way to get that done.