2019-10-14
Joker is a movie that should pull at the heartstrings of the audience. The movie was meant to fill the audience with dread, horror, and yet some sense of awe. After watching Joker with Kat and Paul I'd like to lay ground for some critiques, some praises, and final thoughts.
Just an obvious note - there's spoilers ahead. Don't read if you plan to watch it, and by all means read on if you've watched the film or do not plan to see the film.
One of the most blatant mistakes the film failed to address is something I learned in grade school - "show, don't tell". It seems to be a common theme among DC movies, which is why so many of them have poor ratings and reviews. Instead of explicitly stating the character's backstory, try showing what happened based on appearances, clothing, and environments. In many cases, ambiguity is the best backstory, because it allows the audience to draw in the blanks and think about the film later. For this specific film there was a lot of text. I remember seeing Arthur leaning in a phone booth listening to his employer firing him. Above the booth, it said "phone", as if the audience couldn't tell it was a phone booth. Arthur also reads the letter from Thomas Wayne, showing specific phrases or quotes, in addition to his journal, writing his notes and jokes. I think it would have made a more dramatic effect to instead show the reaction of the person reading the note rather than the actual content.
Throughout the movie there was the presence of an unnecessary romantic interest. The female significant other seemed to come and go through important scenes, but the movie failed to bring about the conclusion of what her role was in the story. She also never seemed to be present in important moments, when Arthur was experiencing tremendous overstimulation. In another scene, Arthur barges into her apartment and simply kisses her without her consent. Nothing amounted from that scene in the slightest. In her last scene, Arthur stumbles into her apartment and sits on the couch. She begs him to leave and is suddenly scared of him. It then pans and zooms on him for dramatic effect and he brings the relationship full circle by cocking his head in her direction and pulling a finger gun to his head. I'm still unsure what the significance of that symbol. I originally drew the conclusion that he was going to kill himself, but he did no such thing and the female did not intervene or even care for him. I think this slight love interest was unnecessary and added no significant contribution to the plot or to his demise.
Another critique is scene and environment. I think they did a fair job framing the environments but their lack of a genuine feel detracts from the overall picture. For one, I think many of the scenes were too clean. In a "shady" and dark subway, the walls were too clean to be old or graffittied. Many of the walls seemed like they had been brought into a set and then graffittied over to make it seem like it was old or abandoned (which is probably very accurate). It didn't seem as genuine. His apartment was much bigger and the amount of room in the apartment made it seem even bigger than my current apartment, which should not be the case. Sometimes subtle details jump out to me as well. The social work office he would do therapy sessions in was too neat. Arthur's clothing variety was too vibrant, and some of his clothes seemed like they were just bought two weeks ago from Goodwill, which is not a complete poverty store. And then it's the subtle details that get me. One thing that stood out to me was his fingers and lips. He clearly had a smoking problem. For someone who has smoked and has friends with consistent smokers, he should have permanently burned lips and permanently burns in between his index and middle finger. Arthur's hair seemed too clean (if you don't shower for three days you've have greasier hair than his hair).
I found myself confused by some of the character interactions, or their intentions. Many times it seemed that Arthur's intentions didn't match up with my preconceived notions of his motives. Many times throughout the film I thought he would try to kill himself, but he never did. This obviously was done on purpose to show that he hated his life, but it didn't seem as such. In one scene, Arthur follows the main love interest around, which leads to her confronting him about it. He admits his fault, but doesn't mention why, and they shortly after spend more time together. Having just received the handgun, and combined with the score, Arthur seemed as though he intended to murder her daughter or kill her instead. These confusing motives detracted from my experience in the movie. I also had a hard time following the character's interactions. I'm left with the scene where Arthur (now Joker) kills his coworker with a pair of scissors while his friend watches. In my perspective, I would not be able to stay sane, but the friend seemed relatively calm and collected after having witnessed an old coworker murdering a friend. It also seemed as though the movie tried to make a comedic ploy in this scene by making the door lock too high for him to reach. I assumed this was supposed to be a serious scene, but the facts seem to say otherwise. There are many other ingenuine character interactions I could elaborate on - Thomas Wayne punching Arthur in the bathroom, the two officers chasing Arthur on the train, the calm and collected Murray on the show set, and more.
In terms of plot, I didn't like the fact that the subway murder was overblown. In a city "overrun" by crime and separated drastically by class, the murder seemed to make all the big headlines, when in reality, more than murder would be a problem, and multiple similar murders might have been reported throughout the month. I also didn't like the fact that the Joker seemed to thrive on attention. I don't think that is the true identity of the original Joker.
Now that I've brought this movie as low as I can, I'll try to rebuild the movie in the best light possible.
First, some of the scening was incredible. The filmography was clean, focus-driven, and atmospheric. I remember the scene where Arthur is following the love interest and the camera watches from a distance as people go about their daily lives while Arthur is still the center of attention, jostling about the center of the street towards the love interest. The shots were clean and the coloring was fantastic. I also recall the bathroom scene after the subway murder, where Arthur is dancing to relax as the camera spins around him. The focus is on him and the camera correctly captures his spin around the room. I also think of the final car scene where the Joker looks out at the audience and feels his lip, then proceeds to draw himself a painted smile with his blood. The shot was very clean, focusing the color on the red blood on his face, while blurring the other unnecessary details and moving slowly about him. It reminds me of a movie with similar scenic shots, Gone Girl. Fantastic capturing of a scene can make a movie worthwhile, and these scenes definitely made the film enjoyable.
Another positive - lighting. The lighting throughout the movie was very consistent, and used many good yellow shades and florescent blue shades to represent lower income areas. Then, towards the end, they begin to bring about more shades of red, indicating his downward spiral into madness and insanity.
I love Joaquin Phoenix's take on the Joker. His acting was fantastic in his representation of Arthur's mannerisms, his smile, his aesthetic, and his body language. The dancing really demonstrated the Joker as a character, and the smile and movement of his hands in most scenes seemed elegant, yet deadly. This is a Joker representation that rivals (if not outperforms) Heath Ledger's performance. Fight me on this one.
Finally, the music. The score for Joker did a fantastic job playing noise at tense moments to make the audience feel intensity and dread. I think the addition of slightly older style music played its part well into the Joker's new style of humor and old-fashioned fun. The only musical choice I disliked was the choice of song for the dance on the stairs.
Overall, I give this movie a 6/10. A disclaimer - even though I rated this movie poorly, I think this movie was definitely worth watching and a fantastic movie. I think a lot of major details could have been better, but this is a good start for DC movies and a fantastic backstory to the Joker, Batman's most infamous villain. I loved this movie and I would definitely suggest it to anyone wishing to watch a dramatic, heart-pulling psychological thriller.