Maya Hall
Lantern Staff
Joker, one of the most anticipated films of the year, was released Friday, Oct. 4 and debuted with a successful weekend box office of $96 million. The movie stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Frances Conroy and Zazie Beetz. Joker not only lives up to most of its expectations but also delivers a profound plot filled with detail and addresses sensitive issues that greatly relate to the character.
Set in 1981, the movie follows the life of Arthur Fleck (Phoenix), a party clown and aspiring stand-up comedian who lives with his mother, Penny (Conroy). Gotham, the city they live in, is full of crime and impoverishment. Arthur suffers from a neurological disorder that causes him to laugh uncontrollably at different moments. Because of this, he takes various medications and makes visits to a social worker. While performing as a clown in the street, Arthur is jumped and beaten up by some teenagers in an alley. A co-worker of his then loans him a gun to protect himself, which leads to him being fired later on. After he is fired, Arthur heads home on the subway and he is again beaten by a young trio of businessmen while still in his clown uniform. Arthur slowly descends into insanity as he encounters these beatings and feelings of indifference from society.
This movie has received a lot of buzz throughout the year and expectations were high for it. Overall, the film did live up to most of its expectations, but there were also some unexpected things throughout the plot. It’s easy to claim that this movie is now the darkest film in the DC cinematic universe. I believe it is, and that claim also comes with proof. One of the most prominent things this movie conveys is mental illness, which is a pivotal part of Arthur Fleck’s character. Not only does he suffer from his uncontrollable laughter condition, but he also states many times throughout the movie that he has never felt happy. This indicates that he may also suffer from depression amongst other things but is not being properly treated for it. I also noticed that Arthur acted differently than normal at various times, such as randomly dancing in the bathroom and having a random burst of confidence after being fired and packing up his things at his job. In that way, it shows that Arthur sees himself in different ways in his mind and struggles with separating fantasy from reality.
I will admit that the film was slow at first, but that is also expected from a dramatic movie, though I did think a little bit more action would create more tension for the audience. As a whole, I give the movie an 8.5 out of 10.