Joaquin Phoenix is both dazzling and utterly terrifying in Joker, Todd Phillips’s bleak interpretation of one of DC’s most iconic villains and Batman’s deadliest arch-enemy. Co-written by Phillips and screenwriter Scott Silver, and with a killer score from Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, the film reads more like a study in madness and alienation than a straightforward superhero/villain movie.
The year is 1981 and Gotham City is in the midst of an insurmountable societal crisis. With municipal workers on an endless strike, rubbish is piling up sky-high and violent crime is dangerously on the rise. When we first meet Arthur Fleck (Phoenix), he is working as a clown for a small performance agency whilst dreaming of making the big time as a stand-up comic. After years of being ridiculed by his peers and set upon by strangers because of his many quirks and peculiarities, Arthur finally snaps and commits the ultimate crime.
Back home, where he lives alone with his ailing mother (a beautifully understated performance by Frances Conroy), Arthur dreams of one day meeting childhood hero and popular late night TV host Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro, brilliant as ever). When his earlier violent actions unwittingly lead to a revolt in the city, Arthur must seize the chance of finally realising the lifelong ambition of appearing on live television.
While there seems to be a fresh influx of DC and Marvel productions making their way onto our screens every other week, what sets Joker apart from the rest is Phillips’s ability to convey a far more complex and meaningful set of ideas than the usual epic fight scenes and action set pieces we’ve come to expect from these productions.
Harnessing his life-long obsession with some of Robert De Niro’s greatest roles, Phillips has borrowed freely and unabashedly from both Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, to bring us his own version of what he sees as a deeply misunderstood character.
Phoenix is truly outstanding in a performance which almost seems like an extension of his role in Lynne Ramsay’s stunning 2017 crime thriller You Were Never Really Here. And while some might fail to resist the urge of comparing his performance to that of Heath Ledger or Jack Nicholson's, there is no denying that Phoenix brings a brand new interpretation of this particular super-villain in an origins story which is unlike any other.
Joker isn’t just stunning to look at, it is also a real game-changer for DC and Warner who have so far trailed behind Marvel and Disney’s ever-growing extended universe. Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix have given us not only one of the most stunning but also one of the most brutally unsettling films of the year so far.