Sublime Joker no laughing matter
Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Francis Conroy, Zazie Beetz. Sad clown. Mad clown. Bad clown. YOU may think you have seen it all before when it comes to the Joker.
But even if you believe acclaimed past interpretations of the Ace of Knaves by Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson have emphatically filled in all blanks of this iconic, irredeemably insane character, Joaquin Phoenix’s incredible portrayal will still be a revelation.
In what should come to stand as the finest performance of 2019 — Oscars, here he comes! — Phoenix isolates a void in The Joker between the breaking of the man and the making of the menace to society.
What he finds there will rattle you incessantly, no matter how comfy your seat.
As for the movie housing this breathtaking acting feat, it is both an origin story for The Joker, and an original story with no ties to any Batman-badged production you have seen before.
This dirty comet of despair will only fleetingly pass through the outer fringes of the DC Comics Universe, just close enough to make out a grotty Gotham City in 1981 that is the hellhole of a home to a pathetic part-time clown and aspiring stand-up comedian.
His name is Arthur Fleck (Phoenix). He lives with his elderly mother Penny (Frances Conroy). Their favourite TV program? A talk show hosted by Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro).
Arthur’s sole dream is to appear on the Murray Franklin Show. With each passing day presenting a newer and nastier nightmare than before, that dream seems beyond impossible.
Arthur also suffers from chronic depression — he is on seven different forms of medication — and a nervous condition that manifests itself as bouts of uncontrollable laughter at inappropriate times.
A snapping point, when it finally arrives, sees the last traces of Arthur Fleck vanishing, and the first glimpses of The Joker looming ominously in the distance.
Director Todd Phillips holds the tension accompanying this disturbing metamorphosis for an ungodly amount of time, until it becomes unbearable.
Then he lets go, releasing a final burst of fury from Phoenix as shocking and sobering as anything seen in a cinema in the past decade.
Make no mistake. Joker is one of the most significant, daring, subversive and divisive movies to make its way into the mainstream in a long, long time.
Like the first-wave of Martin Scorsese-directed movies, which are a clear stylistic and storytelling influence here — Taxi Driver and King of Comedy are the obvious reference points — Joker is an unapologetically confronting work some may find hard to forgive, but no one will ever forget.