Movie Review: Joker
Genuinely unnerving and brilliantly acted. This film really sets the standard for how to do a villain origin story properly. It’s an understated comic book film. There isn’t that much action or drama. Just a slow descent into deeper and deeper madness. Lots of great dark humor too. There are moments where you’ll find yourself laughing but feel kind of bad about it. There was much fear and loathing in the media when the film was released about alienated young men and incels who may be triggered by the story. However I didn’t find the film’s politics to be particularly controversial. It speaks to a fairly universal working class populist sentiment with an explicit focus on problems of poverty over identity issues such as race, gender, or sexuality. My main two criticisms are that the subplot with the black female neighbor was not executed effectively, and that I would have liked a bit more Joker and less Arthur.
An under-appreciated theme of the movie is the importance of fathers. Arthur’s descent into mental illness is first triggered by his abusive adoptive single mother and her sadistic boyfriend(s). His sickness is further catalyzed by his search for a father figure. It starts with Murray the late night comedy show host. He has that tragic fantasy of Murray wishing Arthur was his son. Instead Murray betrays him, using video of Arthur at his most vulnerable as fodder for his show. Next Arthur looks to Thomas Wayne after his mother spent years building him up as a kind of wealthy savior. Wayne of course thoroughly crushes this dream after revealing the truth about Arthur’s mother. Thus at the core, in spite of what the titular character may think, Joker is a tragedy. It is a story about how easily society corrupts boys without fathers to guide them, in spite of their best intentions. The news is replete with examples of such young men and the atrocities they commit. I give credit to Joker for its willingness to speak to this dark issue. It’s not a masterpiece but it’s far more memorable and powerful than your typical cape movie.
Grade: B+
