Joker

I went to see Joker opening weekend in a full IMAX theater. I was unmoved most of the film, but the gasps from the audience made it an enjoyable experience. I left feeling sour, angry and didn’t think Joker deserved a review from me. When the Oscar nominations were announced I was confused and astounded at the eleven awards it was nominated for. What was I missing? So the other night I gave it another go at home. I still can’t say I like Joker, but with that second viewing some of the themes and ideas settled better and I can say it’s a good movie.

In Todd Phillips’ reincarnation of the classic Batman villain, Joker tells the story of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) and his transformation from an aspiring comedian to the face behind a riotous anti-rich movement in Gotham City. This poor joker lives with his mother, works as an advertising clown on the rough streets, and sees a government mandated counselor in order to get his medication. He carries a card explaining how he can break into unstoppable fits of laughter at any moment. One by one, the things that give his life meaning are taken away. He loses his job. The government cuts the program that gives him help and medication. His comedy act bombs so badly the local late night TV host makes fun of him. And he learns a horrible truth about his mother. 

One of the most surprising aspects about this version of an infamous villain is how he becomes a villain in his own self defense. In the train scene that turns into a triple murder, we don’t completely fault Arthur. He was being beaten and shot in self defense. Ok, that third guy on the stairs was definitely murder. When he sees what his mysterious murder has started, it seems to validate his existence and says, “For my whole life I didn’t’ even know I even existed, but I do and people are starting to notice.” For a mentally ill guy recently off his medication, it makes perfect sense to keep it up. Keep being noticed. Keep moving your world in the only way you’ve found that works: violence. 

Joaquin Phoenix’s performance is the obviously great thing in this film. In my first viewing I walked away knowing he would get an Oscar nomination for his role. The Joker has been played in so many times and Phoenix finds a new edge for this character, making him both sympathetic and loathsome. He makes Arthur the kind of guy you really feel bad for, but you make sure to stay away from him. I’d move seats if I was that lady with her kid on the bus. His laugh is something truly creepy and becomes a noise stuck in your head and creeping into your mind at weak moments.   

There is one scene that frightened me to tears in the theater and still got under my skin at home. I’m about to spoil it, so skip to the next paragraph if you haven’t seen Joker. When two of Arthur’s former co-workers visit to help cheer him up, it turns into a vicious murder. I felt so awful for the dwarf man witnessing his friend’s death and the only way out is right in front of Arthur. What made me break down in tears was when he could not reach the door latch! It’s small obstacle in such an awful, desperate moment and I was so scared for that man’s life. Maybe it’s because I’m also very short and can see a high door latch sealing my doom, but that whole scene, its quick brutality and drawn out fear struck a deep chord.

Somehow, Joker is nominated for a whopping eleven Oscar nominations. Eleven. That’s more than any other film this year. They include Best Picture, adapted screenplay, cinematography, film editing, costume design, original score, makeup and hairstyling, sound mixing and sound editing. Phoenix is nominated for best actor. And Todd Phillips, who has directed movies like The Hangover and Old School, is nominated for best director. 

What Joker does best is show us an unforgiving, dirty version of Gotham City with the lower class pushed to their limits and rising up against Thomas Wayne and his rich elites. With programs to help the poor and mentally ill being taken away, those affected fall with no safety net. These ideas are captivating and frightening in this chapter of American history. All they needed was one joker to push back and the whole city began to burn. 

“Is it just me, or is it getting crazier out there?”

The Dark Knight

In early 2008, The Dark Knight was well anticipated for its summer release when it encountered unexpected tragedy.  On January 22, 2008, Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of a sleeping medication.  Days before his death, I remember seeing teaser posters going up in the local theater, with Ledger’s Joker hazed and writing Why So Serious? in blood in the foreground.  The weekend after Ledger’s death, those posters were gone.  The premature end to a great, young actor was too serious for the film community to keep such an ironic image in the public eye.  To further the sad irony, The Dark Knight deals with elements of chaos and tragedy that Ledger’s Joker unleashes across Gotham.

In The Dark Knight, Batman has become a well known vigilante, but not everyone agrees that what he is doing is good.  While some criminals are running scared, others are larger than ever, seeming to act out of defiance.  This leads some to believe that the Batman should be arrested.  But with the arrival of a new kind of criminal, who doesn’t have any motive other than just to throw Gotham into pure chaos, Batman is necessary.  Meanwhile, Bruce’s love interest, Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is now dating Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Gotham’s District Attorney.  It’s only a matter of time before they become The Joker’s targets.

It takes an amazing amount of discipline to portray chaos in a manner that doesn’t leave the audience confused.  In the film, Nolan has scene after scene of Gotham being thrown into The Joker’s insane plots to deal with and control.  There’s an attempted assassination during a memorial service.  Two ferries, one full of civilians, another full of prisoners, with the ability and choice to blow the other ferry up, or they will both be destroyed at midnight.  Most nerve wracking, in my opinion, is the threat that The Joker will blow up a hospital (we can only guess which one) if a certain man is not dead in an hour.  This puts all of Gotham in a frenzy to evacuate all the hospitals and protect a man that many citizens are trying to kill.  With The Joker hatching new schemes and Batman, Gordon (Gary Oldman) and the rest of Gotham scrambling to keep up, there is never a dull moment in this film.

The Dark Knight was nominated for an astounding eight Academy Awards, mostly for technical aspects, but only won two Oscars.  Heath Ledger posthumously won the award for best supporting actor with his daring and twisted portrayal of The Joker, and rightly so.  Every scene he is in, he controls it and mesmerized the audience.  His demeanor is so unsettling and raw that we are drawn in out of curiosity and cannot look away out of fear.  Some of his moments are hilarious in his own menacing way.  I love him visiting Harvey in a nurse’s uniform, complete with a red wig.  Others are horrific and surprising.  The magic pencil trick is a moment that shocks us and before we can even process what just happened, the scene is moving on with no remorse.  The Joker is a role that could mess with anyone’s head, and Ledger pushed boundaries with his character to points where his audience was in awe, disbelief and admiration.  He is an actor that is dearly missed.

Out of the trilogy, I hold The Dark Knight far above the other two films, and believe it is one of the biggest Oscar snubs in the past decade.  In fact, I suspect the Academy began picking ten Best Picture nominees after 2008 because of the great error in not nominating this film.  The story moves fast and keeps the viewer on the edge of their seats.  The sounds and visuals are amazing and immersive. And Nolan’s direction is only surpassed by Ledger’s acting.  Though other films based on comic books have been good, none were great until The Dark Knight.

“You have nothing, nothing to threaten me with.  Nothing to do with all your strength.”