A very intelligent and thought provoking commentary on our society and how we too often treat the mentally ill.
While watching this movie, I spent a lot of time thinking about how someone as mentally sick as Arthur could make it in society. The more I thought the more I realized there was no way this could be possible. We live in a world where there is simply no way for many mentally ill people to make it. This was a depressing thought that ran through my mind for much of this movie. Maybe if society was more responsible with people like this, the horrors the Joker inflicted could have been prevented. After all the only “help” Arthur is given is being able to talk to a social worker (not even a real psychiatrist) who doesn’t care about him and lots of medication that is taken away from him at the worst time possible. This is a film that holds up a mirror to ourselves and the world we live in and many of us won't like what we see.
People are saying that Joaquin Phoenix should win an Oscar for his performance here and I certainly can't argue. His performance manages to be both heartbreakingly real and genuinely frightening. There is a real sense of humanity to this performance. In the comic book The Killing Joke (to be honest I prefer this film's origin story over the one presented in that comic book), the Joker states that we are all just one bad from going insane, however in this film it is multiple bad days pushing him to become more and more crazy with each bad day. What is truly incredible about Joaquin Phoenix's performance is that we see this character slowly evolve from Arthur into the Joker we all know. At first it seemed hard to believe that this guy could possibly become the Clown Prince of Crime, but with each step we believe it more and more until there is no mistaking this character for anything other the Joker. This transformation is not immediate but happens step by step and moment by moment. This is definitely a hard feat for any actor to pull it off, yet Joaquin makes it feel effortless here. I personally feel this is one of the finest performances of his career.
This is also a very effective movie visually. One look at how Gotham looks and you have no doubt that it is the run down place that needs a savior (and in the sick and twisted world of this film it gets the Joker instead). However it is never too unpleasant to look at.
Director and co-writer Todd Phillips shows off his inner cinephile with this movie. This movie features some obvious but much appreciated homages to Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver and King of Comedy. This film also shows clips from two classic films from Hollywood's golden age, Shall We Dance and Modern Times. Of course any movie that pays tribute to Charlie Chaplin and Fred Astaire has got my attention.
Despite the grimness of this movie, the film manages to fit in some good humor. In fact one of the funniest scenes in the movie follows its bloodiest murder (this film definitely is rated R for a reason). This is very helpful because with all the bleakness this film offers we need these lighter funny moments.
This is a superhero film like no other, which is nice when we are surrounded by superhero movies. It is also a very smart and well made film that definitely left a big impression on me as I left the theatre.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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