Joker Film Review By Manya Malhotra

Joker

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thriller

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen

Director: Todd Phillips

Story: The film tells the origin story of The Joker. Arthur Fleck aspires to be a stand up comedian but he is constantly dealt bad hands that eventually drive him over the edge

Description

Review: Joker is dark, it is gritty, it is graphic and if you are willing to sit through it all it is an immersive movie-watching experience. The film traces the origin of one of the most infamous super villains in comic book history. The Joker ( Arthur Fleck) is a complicated character and the film is in no hurry to reveal these complexities of its lead character to us. The story takes a good two hours to unravel Arthur’s character layer by layer, occasionally drawing from instances of his past to help both Arthur and the audience connect the dots.

Director Todd Philips has no qualms about making his audience feel uncomfortable while watching the film. There is repeated emphasis on Arthur’s scrawny and lifeless body to drive home the fact that he is leading a miserable life. The director is just trying to tell the story in the most effective way and even if that includes showcasing a certain amount of violence and gore he does not hesitate. There are some unexpected plot twists that are sprung on the audience, these scenes definitely manage to lift the pace of the film whenever it slackens, and it does slacken. Seeing the lead character follow the same routine day in and day out in the first hour of the film becomes monotonous for the audience. That may have been the aim of the filmmaker but it made me restless. None of the other characters are given too much to do here, perhaps to signify the lack of interaction and loneliness in Arthur’s life.

Joaquin Phoenix delivers an Oscar-worthy performance. He breathes life into the character of Joker and doesn’t miss a beat whether it is his uncontrollable laughter or his menacing stare. Without a brilliant actor like him headlining it, the film would have been a lost cause. The last half an hour of the film is fast-paced and gripping but to get there the director wants us to painstakingly invest in every scene that leads up to it. If you are not a fan of dark and edgy cinema then that is a deal-breaker. However if you enjoy this sort of deliciously twisted cinema then Joker is an experience you should not wait to deep dive into. The applause at the end of the film in my theatre will second that.