Set in Gotham City in the 1980’s, before Batman, in an inner-city apartment lives Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) a want to be comedian who takes care of his ill mother (Conroy). Arthur suffers from a few mental illnesses. One of which is the condition where he just breaks out into laughter and cannot stop! It is a condition brought about from severe head trauma. He takes medication given to him by mental health councilor that he sees at social services. He keeps a Joke diary with things that he finds funny to use in his stand-up comedy act. Arthur also works as a clown entertainer for events and business promotions. One day he is attacked and brutally beaten by a gang of kids in a city where crime has spiraled out of control. But he just puts on a happy face like his mother always told him and lets it pass. He goes home to his mother
who everyday asks if a reply letter she has come from Thomas Wayne (Cullen) who she believes to be Arthurs father. But like her son she too is mentally unstable and delusuional! No letter ever comes! The two of them have a routine of watching a late-night talk show hosted by the famous Murray Franklin (De Niro) who is a hero of Arthurs. Arthur becomes fascinated and obsessed with a single mother that lives in his building named Sophie (Beetz). The two of them in Arthurs mind start a relationship, just another part of his delusions. Then as Arthur tries hard to keep his mental state somewhat in check it all comes crashing down. It starts with his funding for his visits for his counselling and his medication being cut. Next, he is fired from his job as a clown when a gun he was carrying for protection falls out in his act in a children's cancer ward and the co-worker who gave it to him throws him under the bus. This leads to him shooting 3 rich and abusive Wayne Enterprises employees on a subway train. This turns him into a hero of sort by the poor of the city who see the rich as an enemy and riots start in the city with citizens wearing clown masks. Arthur then is ridiculed on live television by his idol Murray Franklin, after a tape of his failed stand-up act is played for the whole city to see. Then he finds out his mother had been lying to him, that he is not Thomas Wayne's son, that she had adopted him, and he was abused as a child by her boyfriend and her. This all leads to Arthur coming to the delusion that he really doesn’t care for society anymore, that he is done trying to stop pretending who he really is and further descends into madness, as does the city! To become Gotham’s clown-prince of crime and one day Batman’s greatest nemesis!
There you have it my friends! The synopsis of this dark and disturbing look into one of comic book lore's most popular villains! It was without a doubt a fantastically written movie with perfect character development and fascinating story arc. The tale of how one person's already fragile mental state can spiral into full blown madness by the circumstances that happen in his own life was shown with such precision added to the creepy tone of this movie. The Joker is not a hero or anti-hero of any sort! He is a mentally ill and disturbed man whose own delusions led him to the point of no return. The fact that how they use how he is portrayed as a hero by the downtrodden citizens of Gotham. This is a direct correlation to the way the news media seems to give mass murders so much press when they commit heinous acts giving others with mentally fragile states and a desire to noticed by society that they feel ignores them causing them to do the same. Joaquin Phoenix did a fantastic job playing the mentally disturbed Arthur Fleck aka Joker. You felt sorry for his character's treatment at the hands of those who he just wanted acceptance from, and you also were creeped out by him and his delusional and violent nature. This was the perfectly played character study. His Joker id right up there with Heath Ledger’s performance. That is why I am giving Joker a 9.0 on the Justin Scale of Movies and placing it on my Pick-It List of movies to see in the theatre. That’s it friends, my latest review! That also means it is time to call it a wrap on my end. Until next time remember to save me a good seat and to keep that popcorn freshly popped because I will be seeing you again at the movies!
There you have it my friends! The synopsis of this dark and disturbing look into one of comic book lore's most popular villains! It was without a doubt a fantastically written movie with perfect character development and fascinating story arc. The tale of how one person's already fragile mental state can spiral into full blown madness by the circumstances that happen in his own life was shown with such precision added to the creepy tone of this movie. The Joker is not a hero or anti-hero of any sort! He is a mentally ill and disturbed man whose own delusions led him to the point of no return. The fact that how they use how he is portrayed as a hero by the downtrodden citizens of Gotham. This is a direct correlation to the way the news media seems to give mass murders so much press when they commit heinous acts giving others with mentally fragile states and a desire to noticed by society that they feel ignores them causing them to do the same. Joaquin Phoenix did a fantastic job playing the mentally disturbed Arthur Fleck aka Joker. You felt sorry for his character's treatment at the hands of those who he just wanted acceptance from, and you also were creeped out by him and his delusional and violent nature. This was the perfectly played character study. His Joker id right up there with Heath Ledger’s performance. That is why I am giving Joker a 9.0 on the Justin Scale of Movies and placing it on my Pick-It List of movies to see in the theatre. That’s it friends, my latest review! That also means it is time to call it a wrap on my end. Until next time remember to save me a good seat and to keep that popcorn freshly popped because I will be seeing you again at the movies!
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