When the news broke in about a movie being made on the origins of the Joker, the first talking point across was the inevitable comparisons that would be made with the Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker in the Christopher Nolan’s rendition of the Batman. The bar was already set so high by Heath as if touching perfection of sorts. When the trailer came out, there was silent applause and glimmer of hope that the bar could be raised.
But in my opinion these are two different kind of setups where a comparison would not make sense. In Nolan’s The Dark Knight, the Joker’s character was already of that intensity from frame one. He was already the agent of chaos. The skill set for the portrait of this maniac was already laid out. In the present case, the role needed a build up requiring multitude of expressions and varying degrees of intensity. And the way it has been pulled off by Joaquin Phoenix is absolutely mind blowing.
Arthur Fleck has a medical condition wherein he bursts out into laughter triggered by trivial things happening around. He is always on a severe dosage of medication which keeps him sane, or so he feels. His ill mother is delusional and her past has several secrets which made Arthur like what he is. Things do not go well at the workplace where he does Joker gigs. He faces the wrath of public indifference and the dreary brutal violence.
Gotham get’s worse like it always does and the series of events takes Arthur to the tipping point. A point where the person would believe that chaos is the only thing which is fair in the this broken world. Unbiased, unprejudiced, fair. And that we are simply holding our instincts fearing the social repercussion. And that anarchy is the true liberation of mankind. You could see those pretentious layers of sanity disappearing gradually through his breathtaking portrayal of a troubled soul getting unchained.
Yes, there is raw violence in the movie which can be really disturbing for some people. But what were you expecting, a clown hopping around pulling off magic tricks? The movie presents an intriguing scenario wherein isolated events of insanity can trigger a whole uprising unleashing the dark side of masses. And oh, all of us have that in ways we perhaps cannot fathom. An opportunity to do things considered criminal by the collective conscience, can be truly liberating.
The cinematography throughout is the best I have ever seen. The shades of Taxi Driver are seen here and there but this is nevertheless a different class altogether. They should have kept it subtle though but casting Robert De Niro made it pretty obvious. Playing Arthur Fleck, was a humongous challenge. And Joaquin Phoenix is a magician having pulled it off so brilliantly. Oscar or not, you have my respect. Nothing but respect.
