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Review: Joker (2019)
This movie was pretty much what I expected. Spoilers.
The story was about a man descending into madness. I think the film would've gotten a similar response if it wasn't billed as a DC movie. If this was a movie about a guy who became a madman not necessarily known as the Joker, I think people would have similar views towards it. I think that's because this movie received accolades for things that weren't really connect to the DC franchise. For example Joaquin Phoenix's acting was one of the most lauded things about the movie, but I think he would still have been praised if this was a movie not called Joker. The Wayne family, while important to the DC franchise, could've been replaced with a typical rich family and the story still would've worked out fine. Things like that.
Story
Unlike most superhero/supervillain origin stories, this movie was about the how rather than the what. The events that led Arthur Fleck to become Joker were pretty self-explanatory, but we got to see it in more detail.
Arthur Fleck was trying to live within the system, working as a clown and taking care of his mother. The conditions of Gotham were getting pretty bad and he was getting harassed left and right. When he tried to defend himself, he'd be beaten up, ridiculed, or abandoned.
The subway killing was his turning point, when Arthur realized that he could take more drastic measures to kill himself. I think the other realization was that he didn't feel bad about killing them, because they treated him terribly, and thus the retribution was justified.
Arthur also discovered the secret behind some of his mental illness. He'd been under the illusion that his mother was a nice woman who saw the best in people and was abandoned by Thomas Wayne. In Penny Fleck's file from Arkham State Hospital, she'd actually adopted Arthur, and had abused him as a child.
Characters
Arthur Fleck
Of course, Arthur is the main character of the film. The entire story is about his psychological transformation. As mentioned above, he'd been treated terribly by everyone in Gotham, from strangers like the kids who stole his sign and beat him up, to people he'd thought were his friends (Randall, who gave him a gun and ratted him out to their boss) to people he idolized (Murray, who'd only invited him onto the show to ridicule him).
He'd had enough and the three investment broker bros were the straw that broke the camel's back. He killed them, but he felt justified, because they'd been harassing him and beating him up. This behaviour led to him killing other people, including Murray Franklin, who he'd looked up to, but only paid attention to him in order to ridicule him.
Arthur had delusions like his mother. In this case, he'd imagined that he had a relationship with his neighbour Sophie, who'd spoken to him once on the elevator. It was those delusions that probably kept him going when he was going through tough times. He'd imagined that Sophie agreed with the murder's actions, he'd imagined Sophie seeing him at his stand up show and laughing, and he'd imagined Sophie being there for him when his mother was ill.
I think that Arthur killed his mother because he didn't see any reason not to, if that makes sense. Taking care of his mother was the only thing he had to fall back on. Even when he was fired, he could still go home and have his mother's love. Discovering that Penny had abused Arthur did away with that trust. Arthur saw her as another person who'd wronged her, and so it made sense that he could kill her.
Arthur initially believed that his spontaneous laughter was a neurological condition, but he later told his mom that it was possibly just his natural reactions. I think it's a common tool used in movies, when things are so terrible that the only thing one can do is laugh.
After being arrested for murdering Murray, Joker caused anarchy around Gotham. He thought it was beautiful, seeing people take out their anger and frustrations physically.
The last scene had Joker at the Arkham State Hospital. He was speaking with a social worker who was more receptive and attentive to Arthur's words. However, he ended up killing her anyway. He said that she wouldn't "get his joke." I think he killed her because there just wasn't any reason for him not to. He didn't see her helping him, and I think that was the only reason he needed to have his fun.
Murray Franklin
Arthur absolutely idolized Murray Franklin. He was a talk show host that Arthur and his mother watched religiously. Arthur even dreamed about appearing on the show, and getting to know Murray personally and being showered with his praise.
In reality, Murray only noticed Arthur when he put on an unsuccessful stand up show. Murray furthered his ridicule of Arthur by inviting him onto the show. Why he did that, I don't understand, but we definitely see this in entertainment of today, when people are invited on to be ridiculed or teased, which is actually quite cruel.
Murray was already kind of mean to Arthur when he was on set, making fun of the fact that he had to look at his notebook for good jokes. As Arthur furthered his act on the show, Murray went all serious, saying that Arthur's jokes were not funny, etc. In Arthur's eyes, Murray had already showed his true colours by continuously ridiculing him, and this his retribution was deserved in Arthur's eyes.
Murray represents hypocritical public figures. He expressed sympathy for the people who were hurt in the subway accident prior to Arthur's arrival on the show. However, he continued to ridicule Arthur as well as the other "clowns" who were tired of how Gotham continued to ignore those people in need.
Penny Fleck
Penny was initially shown to be a desperate but optimistic woman. She continuously wrote letters to Thomas Wayne asking for financial help as Arthur was his son. Discovering this made Arthur very angry at Thomas, who refused to recognize him as his son.
At the time that Arthur went to Arkham State Hospital, he was already in the midst of his transformation. Nothing could really surprise him anymore, but knowing that Penny abused him was just another wrong that happened to him that Arthur had the permission to seek vengeance for.
Thomas Wayne
Thomas Wayne was portrayed as a douche in this movie. Penny thought the world of him, seeing as how he spoke so magnanimously. He said that the three investment brokers that worked for his company were "family," despite not knowing them personally.
He was also an egoist. He'd called the anarchists "clowns," and in his bid for mayor, he said that he was their only hope in bettering themselves.
Thomas Wayne was killed by one of the rioters. While he didn't necessarily wrong Penny and Arthur Fleck, he still stood for one of the terrible things about Gotham. The wealthy people were alone in their little bubble, watching a movie in a theater while rioters were wreaking havoc outside. He claimed to treat his employees like family and to care for those living in poverty, but his help never seemed to reach the truly needy like Arthur and his mother. His and his wife's death were more of a representation of what the people were angry about.
Other
If they film a sequel for this movie, I'd be pretty disappointed. I don't think a sequel would be appropriate because this wasn't a supervillain movie at the core. I'd say it was a drama film first and a supervillain movie second.
Overall
Overall, it was an alright movie. I do think it was a bit of a hard watch, and I know that it was meant to be. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this movie. I still think it was okay, but it's not exactly my cup of tea. But if you like gritty psychological movies, this might be for you.
The story was about a man descending into madness. I think the film would've gotten a similar response if it wasn't billed as a DC movie. If this was a movie about a guy who became a madman not necessarily known as the Joker, I think people would have similar views towards it. I think that's because this movie received accolades for things that weren't really connect to the DC franchise. For example Joaquin Phoenix's acting was one of the most lauded things about the movie, but I think he would still have been praised if this was a movie not called Joker. The Wayne family, while important to the DC franchise, could've been replaced with a typical rich family and the story still would've worked out fine. Things like that.
Story
Unlike most superhero/supervillain origin stories, this movie was about the how rather than the what. The events that led Arthur Fleck to become Joker were pretty self-explanatory, but we got to see it in more detail.
Arthur Fleck was trying to live within the system, working as a clown and taking care of his mother. The conditions of Gotham were getting pretty bad and he was getting harassed left and right. When he tried to defend himself, he'd be beaten up, ridiculed, or abandoned.
The subway killing was his turning point, when Arthur realized that he could take more drastic measures to kill himself. I think the other realization was that he didn't feel bad about killing them, because they treated him terribly, and thus the retribution was justified.
Arthur also discovered the secret behind some of his mental illness. He'd been under the illusion that his mother was a nice woman who saw the best in people and was abandoned by Thomas Wayne. In Penny Fleck's file from Arkham State Hospital, she'd actually adopted Arthur, and had abused him as a child.
Characters
Arthur Fleck
Of course, Arthur is the main character of the film. The entire story is about his psychological transformation. As mentioned above, he'd been treated terribly by everyone in Gotham, from strangers like the kids who stole his sign and beat him up, to people he'd thought were his friends (Randall, who gave him a gun and ratted him out to their boss) to people he idolized (Murray, who'd only invited him onto the show to ridicule him).
He'd had enough and the three investment broker bros were the straw that broke the camel's back. He killed them, but he felt justified, because they'd been harassing him and beating him up. This behaviour led to him killing other people, including Murray Franklin, who he'd looked up to, but only paid attention to him in order to ridicule him.
Arthur had delusions like his mother. In this case, he'd imagined that he had a relationship with his neighbour Sophie, who'd spoken to him once on the elevator. It was those delusions that probably kept him going when he was going through tough times. He'd imagined that Sophie agreed with the murder's actions, he'd imagined Sophie seeing him at his stand up show and laughing, and he'd imagined Sophie being there for him when his mother was ill.
I think that Arthur killed his mother because he didn't see any reason not to, if that makes sense. Taking care of his mother was the only thing he had to fall back on. Even when he was fired, he could still go home and have his mother's love. Discovering that Penny had abused Arthur did away with that trust. Arthur saw her as another person who'd wronged her, and so it made sense that he could kill her.
Arthur initially believed that his spontaneous laughter was a neurological condition, but he later told his mom that it was possibly just his natural reactions. I think it's a common tool used in movies, when things are so terrible that the only thing one can do is laugh.
After being arrested for murdering Murray, Joker caused anarchy around Gotham. He thought it was beautiful, seeing people take out their anger and frustrations physically.
The last scene had Joker at the Arkham State Hospital. He was speaking with a social worker who was more receptive and attentive to Arthur's words. However, he ended up killing her anyway. He said that she wouldn't "get his joke." I think he killed her because there just wasn't any reason for him not to. He didn't see her helping him, and I think that was the only reason he needed to have his fun.
Murray Franklin
Arthur absolutely idolized Murray Franklin. He was a talk show host that Arthur and his mother watched religiously. Arthur even dreamed about appearing on the show, and getting to know Murray personally and being showered with his praise.
In reality, Murray only noticed Arthur when he put on an unsuccessful stand up show. Murray furthered his ridicule of Arthur by inviting him onto the show. Why he did that, I don't understand, but we definitely see this in entertainment of today, when people are invited on to be ridiculed or teased, which is actually quite cruel.
Murray was already kind of mean to Arthur when he was on set, making fun of the fact that he had to look at his notebook for good jokes. As Arthur furthered his act on the show, Murray went all serious, saying that Arthur's jokes were not funny, etc. In Arthur's eyes, Murray had already showed his true colours by continuously ridiculing him, and this his retribution was deserved in Arthur's eyes.
Murray represents hypocritical public figures. He expressed sympathy for the people who were hurt in the subway accident prior to Arthur's arrival on the show. However, he continued to ridicule Arthur as well as the other "clowns" who were tired of how Gotham continued to ignore those people in need.
Penny Fleck
Penny was initially shown to be a desperate but optimistic woman. She continuously wrote letters to Thomas Wayne asking for financial help as Arthur was his son. Discovering this made Arthur very angry at Thomas, who refused to recognize him as his son.
At the time that Arthur went to Arkham State Hospital, he was already in the midst of his transformation. Nothing could really surprise him anymore, but knowing that Penny abused him was just another wrong that happened to him that Arthur had the permission to seek vengeance for.
Thomas Wayne
Thomas Wayne was portrayed as a douche in this movie. Penny thought the world of him, seeing as how he spoke so magnanimously. He said that the three investment brokers that worked for his company were "family," despite not knowing them personally.
He was also an egoist. He'd called the anarchists "clowns," and in his bid for mayor, he said that he was their only hope in bettering themselves.
Thomas Wayne was killed by one of the rioters. While he didn't necessarily wrong Penny and Arthur Fleck, he still stood for one of the terrible things about Gotham. The wealthy people were alone in their little bubble, watching a movie in a theater while rioters were wreaking havoc outside. He claimed to treat his employees like family and to care for those living in poverty, but his help never seemed to reach the truly needy like Arthur and his mother. His and his wife's death were more of a representation of what the people were angry about.
Other
If they film a sequel for this movie, I'd be pretty disappointed. I don't think a sequel would be appropriate because this wasn't a supervillain movie at the core. I'd say it was a drama film first and a supervillain movie second.
Overall
Overall, it was an alright movie. I do think it was a bit of a hard watch, and I know that it was meant to be. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this movie. I still think it was okay, but it's not exactly my cup of tea. But if you like gritty psychological movies, this might be for you.