My take on Joker

Joker - A testament to the Clown Prince of Crime

                                            

Memories dating back to 2008, the Nolan's Dark Knight, Micheal Caine says, " Some men aren't looking for anything logical, they cannot be borrowed, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just wanna watch the world BURN!" This movie charts down the idea and the man behind the burn. It's the story of the man who is just chaotic and vicious in normalcy.

It's the story of Arthur Fleck. Rather nicknamed ironically by his mother, as Happy, is a struggling artist and a broken man, moreover a browbeaten son. He has an ailing mother to be taken care of. He's out of Cash, family, friends, job, has everything but welfare. We get to know that Arthur hasn't even been happy for one minute of his life. We also see him write notes and cracks sick jokes on his living that"He never even knew that he existed and his entire life was a tragedy". Life becomes too big of weight and a living hell for him. Until he revels out as Joker.

 Arthur's suffering and submissive condition, by large, draws out from the lamenting state of Gotham city. There's a hierarchical and economic imbalance, cold political agendas, Thomas Wayne is contesting for being the next bright mayor, in a nutshell, The rich and educated live a lavish while the poor spiral down into the filth. Nobody, in the city, who would spare a sight, even if the poor died.

Joker becomes the symbol for revolt and chaos for those poor as his unstable acts give the sparks for the riot.

Now, before this review opens up about the performance, the elephant in the room, Pheonix as Joker, it'll brush up with other departments.

The movie has a crisp cut story. It's just like how an origin flick should be for a character study like Joker. The story borders out on dark, subtle and thematically efficient plot points to flesh out the dreadful character drama like this. The story gets tightly knit with utmost coherency to the DCEU, more importantly, Bruce Wayne's universe, though having a standalone status. The narration takes its time and has a steady, relaxed pace to it. The transitions and character arc's circle fall at right places smoothly escalating to the footing of scowl faced, green-haired man in the movie. The technicalities and presentation of the movie further add up to the story.

Director Todd Philips and Cinematographer Lawrence Sher score respectable marks for their work. Further, the production Design and Music (more precisely the Musical Track References) of the movie stand apart, in taking the audience both to the retro, the early 80s and to then looming Gotham, with the honey tint and pale lighting making the place a civic hell. These dexterities texture the frames and give the movie Joker, a character in itself. Ultimately, the craft called cinema gets used as an adroit and nimble media to have a commentary on the guise of the wicked eyed man.

If these factors made the story of Joker into a rib-ticking, bleak film, then Jaoquin Pheonix's performance makes us look into austere madness of Joker. Pheonix's performance is no less than a miracle witnessed in Dark Knight, from Heath Ledger. The physical presence of Pheonix, with his skinny structure and his bones pulling out of his skin, makes us half empathetic, the other half from his portrayal of the character. It would be aridity that Pheonix perfectly stepped into the shoes of Arthur. It can better be said that Pheonix's performance fixed its teeth, bleeding into the early desperation, and later, the revelation that the character goes into as he smears his blood from his lips to the cheek making a cruel smile on his face. We directly transcend into his mind as he sucks us up with his magnetic poise. His act grabs on the nerve, shoving up poison and shake one's heart with its resounding severity. We also have an admirable guest role by Robert De Niro as Murray Steven, a Comedy Night Show Host.

Joker, this year, is in a way was a wild card and a ticket to the hearts of cinephiles, being a fulfilment to its Comics, which is filled with such eccentric and oddball characters. Except for its slightly problematic one-note approach, Joker may have you carry some dread in your mind as you step out of the theatre and is not a movie that you would enjoy buying a tub of popcorn and coke while you step into the theatre too.

Joker very skillfully proves how strong and effective the craft called cinema can be. But in saturation, its a testament to the Clown Prince of Crime