Joker

**Joaquin Phoenix Is Anything But Mediocre In His Performance As Joker. *In the latest DC film from Warner Bros., director Todd Phillips gives us a standalone story, completely separate from Warner Bros. DC cinematic universe, about a man who is pushed so far past his limit that all he wants is to cause chaos and becomes known as “Joker”. Joker* is a dark film dealing with a man’s mental illness and being overlooked by society; the film is also a commentary on our modern society through the lens of a 1960s crime thriller. Yet, as dark and sickening as one might feel watching the movie, it’s still so stunning to watch that you can’t look away. The film starts with Arthur Fleck (played by Joaquin Phoenix) applying makeup to his face for his job as a clown for hire; his job entails him to do things like twirling signs for businesses and performing for sick kids at children’s hospitals. When Arthur first gets to his apartment, we learn that he lives with and takes care of his mom Penny (played by Frances Conroy). We see many people take advantage of and beat up on Arthur (strangers included), and as a product of that abuse or just whenever he’s upset, Arthur starts laughing uncontrollably. However, he’s not laughing because he wants to; he’s laughing because he has a condition that causes him to do so at inappropriate times. It’s essentially a form of Tourette’s. Arthur is an aspiring comedian, and he writes jokes in a journal that his therapist gave him to write down about his day, thoughts, and feelings. Unfortunately, Arthur isn’t the best at telling his jokes and gets made fun of by many people including one of his idols, late night host Murray Franklin (played by Robert De Niro). Eventually, Arthur becomes so fed up with being beaten and teased that he decides to strike back and give people what they “deserve” for taking advantage of him and poor people like him. His striking back against the rich and privileged people in the city causes chaos and riots in the streets of Gotham, but Arthur embraces all of this happening because the rioters look up to him and the deeds he’s done. In interviews, Todd Phillips has said that films like Taxi Driver and King of Comedy were inspirations for Joker, and that’s very evident in the way Arthur Fleck takes his own brand of vigilante justice out on those higher in society than him and by the fact that he’s a failing comedian who wants to be in the spotlight. Those two concepts alone in their own films are both terrifying yet compelling to watch, but put them together with Joaquin Phoenix’s performance, and you get something truly incredible to watch. More than anything, Joker should be seen for Phoenix’s performance because it’s truly Oscar worthy, and come awards season, don’t be shocked if his name pops up in the nominations list. I also won’t be shocked if the film itself is nominated for Best Picture because it’s a film that has done something that only a handful of comic book films have done; it transcends the genre. To me that should be the basis of any movie (not just ones based on comic books) to get nominated for the Best Picture category; they should transcend their genres or be doing something fresh and new within the genre itself. Overall, Joker is a film with dark subject matter, and it won’t be for everybody. However, it’s also a film with phenomenal performances and cinematography, and it should be given a chance for those two things alone. Definitely see the film as soon as you can! 5 out of 5 ⭐** **