A movie that didn’t need to be made often will benefit from the doubt if that same movie pays due diligence and does the movie right. Those wondering why we need a Joker origin story when there is a perfect origin story in The Dark Knight (one of the 25 best movies ever made) should find some relief in knowing that the Christopher Nolan trilogy story will not be confused with Todd Phillips’ (War Dogs, Old School) Joker. This film never mentions the word Batman nor refers to anything related to, perhaps, the most iconic comic book franchise of all time other than references to Gotham City and a billionaire businessman named Thomas Wayne.

In late 1981, Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix (Her, Reservation Road) as a gaunt, deranged, wild-eyed-looking Arthur Fleck, a failing part-time clown who dreams of life as a stand-up comedian. Parading around almost as a human-sized puppet, Arthur has a condition in which he cannot help but laugh at the most inopportune of times. He even has a card to hand to people that explains the condition that causes him to laugh the way he does. Nonetheless, this often gets him in trouble both on the job and in his personal life.

Unable to develop or maintain any relationships of his own, Arthur dreams of a romantic life with his neighbor Sophie (Zazie Beetz – Sollers Point, Lucy in the Sky) while tending to his ailing mother Penny (Frances Conroy – Shopgirl, The Aviator) just a few doors down in the apartment that the two of them share. Nightly, they watch a late-night talk show called Live! With Murray Franklin, a The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson type show hosted by Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook, Casino). Arthur fantasizes about being on the show, charming the fellow audience members with anecdotes of how he’s his mother’s caregiver. He dreams of being accepted by Murray, a man he greatly admires.

In actuality, however, Gotham City is crumbling. It is a city that is struggling with crime, unemployment, poverty, sickness, and more. In addition, there is a current rat infestation due to the accumulation of garbage from the city’s trash workers who are going on strike. Penny used to work for Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen – The Shallows, 42) and wrote to him to better their living situation. However, she insists that Thomas will help them if they know how they live, going so far as to fabricate a past relationship.

Arthur is not lazy, stupid, or unemployable. While he is not very good at this job, it’s not because of a lack of trying. Also, he tries hard with his medical condition. He’s on a cocktail of prescribed medications, none of which seems to be doing the trick to make him adjust to a society that wants to reject him. He goes to social services counseling, though we aren’t told if this is by choice or mandated. In either case, when city funding is cut, Arthur is without a social worker, and his mania takes a turn for the worst. This is coupled with receiving a gun from a co-worker to defend himself better, and…well…you can guess what comes next.

Joker feels a lot like 197’s Taxi Driver. In Arthur, you have a man who only feels alive for the first time after he kills. Joker doesn’t glamorize the killing, but it does feel highly personal. Because of its R-rating, Joker can allow us to look at the killings more closely. Rather than sweeping the deaths together, we have the opportunity to meet each of the characters killed, even if it is just for a short period. In those moments, we see each of these people as individuals with their own unique stories. That doesn’t necessarily draw sympathy towards them. It adds an element to them that we wouldn’t get if Joker went on a killing spree. It’s quite the opposite. We quickly begin to sympathize with this loner, this (probably) most recognized comic book supervillain of all time.

Phoenix was mesmerizing in this film. It is, perhaps, his finest work. This is saying a lot for a man who, at age 45, will have his fourth Oscar nomination with this movie (Gladiator, The Master, and Walk the Line are his others). Joker comes off a banner 2018 for Phoenix in which he starred in three films (The Sisters Brothers, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot, You Were Never Really Here) that could have nabbed him an Oscar nomination. There won’t be any doubt this season. The only question will be whether he will win his first Oscar. He has a legitimate chance. The other characters are serviceable. De Niro gives his best performance since 2012’s Silver Linings Playbook as the quick-lipped Murray. His late-night show feels like a late-night show that would earn high ratings in early 1980s America. But this is a Joaquin Phoenix-led vehicle and succeeds only because of him. Even those who might not like this film won’t say that Phoenix wasn’t hypnotic as the title character.

This film deserves a theater watch. The cinematography is unreal. It paints Gotham City as a dark, decrepit place where you would only want to live if you had no choice. There isn’t a moment in this film that feels happy despite Arthur trying to do everything he can to make those around him laugh. Instead, we feel sorry for him, thus making him more sympathetic in each passing scene. I wouldn’t say that we root for him to succeed or that his killings are warranted. Still, in the 122 minutes run time of this film (in which we are with Arthur the whole time), we understand his needs and his wants and hope that he will be able to get the help he most desperately needs, knowing the entire time what is lying around the bend for him.

Plot 9/10
Character Development 9.5/10
Character Chemistry 8.5/10
Acting 10/10
Screenplay 9/10
Directing 8.5/10
Cinematography 10/10
Sound 8/10
Hook and Reel 8.5/10
Universal Relevance 9/10
90%

B+

Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie

• Taxi Driver
• One Hour Photo
• American Psycho
• The King of Comedy
• The Machinist