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Joker
Well I’m glad to report Fajita Friday was fully instated last night alongside a Nacho sharer and coke.
To be honest I didn’t really know much about this film going in. I had read snippets of news and I think I caught one of the trailers but I do recall having that sinking feeling when you hear that there’s a new take on a well worn franchise.
The Batman universe with his outings against his arch villain are multiple and well trodden, could this origin story really bring something new?
We start with Gotham pre Bruce Wayne and in trouble. The city is in chaos, unemployment is high rubbish fills the streets and the whole place is a powder keg just waiting to go up.
Our protagonist Arthur Fleck is a troubled soul, living with his mother and scraping out a living as a party clown with dreams of making it big in the world of stand up comedy. As our story unfolds it shows Arthurs slow descent from a fractured mind into demented madness.
For a large part of the film we can have empathy for Arthur. Through no fault of his own he has a condition that causes uncontrollable laughter when he is anxious, and his mind is always filled with darkness. Bullied and picked on constantly by the world around him Arthurs life changes dramatically as a series of events propels him along a path filled with anger, pain and violence. This leads to the spark that ignites a city wide rebellion that takes us twisting along a timeline that finally intersects with the well played out scenario that is Bruce Wayne’s parent’s death.
The first thing that struck me was Joaquin Phoenix. The physical transformation is startling and a little unnerving. This is the actor that played the emperor in Gladiator. Gone is the fulsome youthful face and healthy body and is replaced by a gaunt harrowed look alongside an almost bulimic form. Stick thin arms twist and contort unnaturally and are attached to a torso of bones that stick out at odd angles. The man is completely unrecognisable.
He is assisted well by De Niro as a talk show host who is Arthurs hero.
Phoenix performance is top draw.. It would have been so easy to drift into caricature and overacting, but his portrayal is both memorable and eerie. The execution of the part is incredible right across the spectrum from the sad damaged little man all the way to terrifying sociopath.
On occasion I genuinely felt as uncomfortable as the people around Arthur as they witnessed his increasingly bizarre behaviour. You felt right there with them witnessing someone that you felt could just suddenly explode.
The mood of the film is intense and dark, accompanied often by a deep cello bass score that intensifies the bleakness of the city and the situation. The violence is sporadic but visceral and hard hitting. You can almost feel it shudder through you and it has real impact.
As Arthur’s transformation into the Joker completes there are a couple of scenes very reminiscent of Heath Ledgers performance, especially in the visual department. One scene in particular comes to mind of him riding in the back of a car face against the window, empty eyes staring out at the passing lights of the city.. Fantastic!
It would have been very easy to fall into ‘just another Batman film ‘ trap here, I’m glad they didn’t and managed to make it stand on its own merits. The film is already showing signs of being a huge success and a follow up seem inevitable, if they do I hope they can maintain the tone and quality of this vision so it can carve its own path through the DC universe. If they can it will be quite something
Overall, very good.. A tad slow in places but it is required for the descent of Arthur and the rise of the Joker to be fully realised.. Phoenix is outstanding.. see it, feel it..raw and dark.
8/10 Fajita’s
Well I’m glad to report Fajita Friday was fully instated last night alongside a Nacho sharer and coke.
To be honest I didn’t really know much about this film going in. I had read snippets of news and I think I caught one of the trailers but I do recall having that sinking feeling when you hear that there’s a new take on a well worn franchise.
The Batman universe with his outings against his arch villain are multiple and well trodden, could this origin story really bring something new?
We start with Gotham pre Bruce Wayne and in trouble. The city is in chaos, unemployment is high rubbish fills the streets and the whole place is a powder keg just waiting to go up.
Our protagonist Arthur Fleck is a troubled soul, living with his mother and scraping out a living as a party clown with dreams of making it big in the world of stand up comedy. As our story unfolds it shows Arthurs slow descent from a fractured mind into demented madness.
For a large part of the film we can have empathy for Arthur. Through no fault of his own he has a condition that causes uncontrollable laughter when he is anxious, and his mind is always filled with darkness. Bullied and picked on constantly by the world around him Arthurs life changes dramatically as a series of events propels him along a path filled with anger, pain and violence. This leads to the spark that ignites a city wide rebellion that takes us twisting along a timeline that finally intersects with the well played out scenario that is Bruce Wayne’s parent’s death.
The first thing that struck me was Joaquin Phoenix. The physical transformation is startling and a little unnerving. This is the actor that played the emperor in Gladiator. Gone is the fulsome youthful face and healthy body and is replaced by a gaunt harrowed look alongside an almost bulimic form. Stick thin arms twist and contort unnaturally and are attached to a torso of bones that stick out at odd angles. The man is completely unrecognisable.
He is assisted well by De Niro as a talk show host who is Arthurs hero.
Phoenix performance is top draw.. It would have been so easy to drift into caricature and overacting, but his portrayal is both memorable and eerie. The execution of the part is incredible right across the spectrum from the sad damaged little man all the way to terrifying sociopath.
On occasion I genuinely felt as uncomfortable as the people around Arthur as they witnessed his increasingly bizarre behaviour. You felt right there with them witnessing someone that you felt could just suddenly explode.
The mood of the film is intense and dark, accompanied often by a deep cello bass score that intensifies the bleakness of the city and the situation. The violence is sporadic but visceral and hard hitting. You can almost feel it shudder through you and it has real impact.
As Arthur’s transformation into the Joker completes there are a couple of scenes very reminiscent of Heath Ledgers performance, especially in the visual department. One scene in particular comes to mind of him riding in the back of a car face against the window, empty eyes staring out at the passing lights of the city.. Fantastic!
It would have been very easy to fall into ‘just another Batman film ‘ trap here, I’m glad they didn’t and managed to make it stand on its own merits. The film is already showing signs of being a huge success and a follow up seem inevitable, if they do I hope they can maintain the tone and quality of this vision so it can carve its own path through the DC universe. If they can it will be quite something
Overall, very good.. A tad slow in places but it is required for the descent of Arthur and the rise of the Joker to be fully realised.. Phoenix is outstanding.. see it, feel it..raw and dark.
8/10 Fajita’s
Agree with all of this but less eloquently lol.
I am going to add 2 words - disturbing and intense
I was however following a van through a Ford too closely and as he exited the ford up a hill all the water he collected created a wash and drowned me.
