LogFAQs > #970123212

I almost posted this in the depression topic. For serious. This is going to be a dark and brutal read, so... yeah. Forgive the introspection. I tried to go light on it.

Joker (2019)
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Written by: Todd Phillips & Scott Silver
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert de Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy
Previous status: Never seen

"I just hope my death makes more sense than my life."

Damn, this one hit really close to home. I'm no murdering psycho, but some of Arthur Fleck's traits align closely with my own, and I'm trying my best to reject turning into an incel but... that's what society has already labeled me. And there's really nothing I can do about that. Because, as this movie shows, you tend to become what you're labeled. That and, well, people suck. That's a lesson I've learned time and time again.

Firstly, I found this movie difficult to place in the timeline - it certainly was before the 90s based on the tech and the smoking indoors, but based on the psychiatric medications it couldn't be too far before the 90s. I looked it up and it said 1981, which makes sense in the Nolan trilogy timeline (so Batman would be ~34 y/o in Batman Begins, which makes sense). From the start, it's evident that Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) is insane. He even has a card that explains his fits of laughter, but not everyone is sympathetic toward his mental health issues. This is evident when three bullies throw him on the floor of a subway and start kicking him, only to all be shot dead because Arthur had a gun on him. This was 100% in self-defense and, if witnessed, would be wholly justified. Honestly, Arthur should've just shot one guy in the leg - non-lethal damage that would get the others to back off and panic. Evidence found on his clothing would corroborate him being kicked. No 90s fancy forensics needed. It was great to see those thugs get theirs - more people need to stand up for themselves, and that's something I am working on. Just, y'know, without a gun.

There are other things I relate to. Arthur's fantastical illusions of his neighbor Sophie (Beetz), for instance, were something to make him feel loved, to feel needed, to have someone to kiss to decompress - I speak from experience, because I need that. I dream of what I lack, what I need, and completely understand. That said him following her in the creepy way he did (which was actuality) was not cool - he should've, y'know, talked to her, asked her out, etc. Because her coming to his door was a fantasy of his, as was her involvement everywhere else after that until he intruded upon her apartment and creeped her out. I had thought she was going to die, and her illusive self did in a way. Then she went poof and Arthur forgot all about her... more on that later.

There's also Robert de Niro's character, late-night talk show host Murray Phillips, who's good at his job. Makes the jokes and is very, very good at improv, as evidenced when he calls Arthur to come on down the first time. Arthur's "So Bad It's Good" stand-up routine got a lot of hits too, and Murray was fully aware of who it was. I wonder if that mockery was meant to help further Arthur's career - we all know that covfefe drives up ratings. If the pundits are all talking about how controversial X is, people are gonna check it out.

Arthur's mom is just as mental as he is - and she's been spinning this huge lie for him his entire life when she had abused him as a young lad, one she'd adopted off the street. She had lied to him that he was her son and an illegitimate heir to the Wayne fortune, which Thomas Wayne quickly denies when confronted. He's the one who started the tailspin, which ended up claiming his life and that of his wife, leaving a 9 y/o Bruce to inherit it all. Joe Chill saw them and killed them, exacting revenge.

Really, Arthur is a fascinating central psychopath here, and his transformation into Joker is wholly understandable. This is pretty spot-on in how psycho killers come to be - and I know that in a parallel universe I may have transformed into that, but I'd never hurt anyone except in self-defense if I'm cornered. From this angle, the film is enjoyable at the same time it is off-putting. I wanted to love it, but part of me just couldn't because of how it made me feel sick in some ways. This really shook me in ways I'd rather not talk about.

Though let's be clear: I don't know what was real and what wasn't, because it all ended with him being questioned in Arkham, where he might've been after suffocating his psycho mother to death as revenge for lying to him. Or after he murdered Murray on live TV (woah!!!) instead of killing himself, because Murray dared call him "Arthur" and argue with him. (No way could this have happened today, because security checks are far tighter because psychos like Joker exist.) What all truly happened, and what was in his head? Because Sophie was an illusion, other things might've been too, much like Bateman in American Psycho. Only, unlike that one, this didn't end with a grinding halt. It ended with a "To Be Continued..." and a lot of anarchy in the streets. It was all for that payoff. It worked, but how well? IDK...

This movie really is a crossroads for me. It's probably going to require further interpretation and introspection later, and perhaps a rewatch at a time when I'm less unstable. This was a reminder of that, and it may help me in the end. I do not know. But, as a film, I feel like a 3.5/5 is the right way to go - fascinating character portrayal of the protagonist, but the rest of the cast lacks in the same complexity, and it lacks the "HOLY SHIT" mindfuck the thrillers I truly loved had. It still had a "WOAH" part of the ending (see above) but that was one moment, and not something that left me buzzing. In fact, the introspective shit is what's resonating, and that can either be really good or really bad.

@Zachnorn @Snake5555555555 you each get a new nomination!