Joker is a film which comes directed by Todd Phillips who some may know as the director of all three Hangover films (2009, 2011 and 2013) or Starsky & Hutch (2004). The film stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy and Brett Cullen.
This is really a very exciting movie to go and see. Not only do I love watching Joaquin Phoenix in the cinema who is always very good, but the film is also the first standalone Joker movie, that does not even include Batman inside of it. It’s a full Joker origin story film! As a Batman fan and a fan of the comic book genre, this something that I would never want to miss.
Going into the film, I actually had very high expectations for it. Joaquin Phoenix, who I’ve already mentioned I know, is very good and I couldn’t see him doing this film if it wasn’t something high quality. Robert De Niro is also attached to it, which is great and in the last few weeks I’ve seen countless good reviews online for the film from other outlets which saw it a little early. So of course, I expected a lot from this and to be honest, the film met every single one of my expectations and left me at the end of it in awe of what I had just saw. With the film coming out this weekend, I’m already planning my second watch through of Joker. It was so good, I’m thinking to even watch it 3 times at the cinema and It’s at the moment my film of the year.
The acting from Joaquin Phoenix is quite possibly the best I’ve seen from this actor in a film. Sure he’s always been good, but I’ve never seen him in a role like this before. He’s lost of weight for this role and his hard work and dedication to the Joker character really came through as it brought the Joker to life on screen. It was a very believable and powerful performance. Definitely the best I’ve seen this year and probably deserving of an Oscar and many other awards.
The story in this film is also of a very high level. It’s a character driven film and Joker (Joaquin Phoenix) is always at the centre of it. Pretty much, he’s in every scene. You see this character go through a lot and develop as the film progresses. Now I don’t actually want to go into any details of this because I went into this film quite fresh and tried my best to avoid all spoilers. But trust me when I say, I don’t think there will be anyone at all disappointed when it comes to character development in Joker. It’s perfect and filled with subtleties and hidden messages all throughout that people could discuss over and over again for weeks after seeing it and I love that about this film.
The directing from Todd Phillips is excellent and this is by far his best film yet. It’s also very different when looking at this director’s previous works as all of my favourite films of his are all comedies. Joker is so dark and different to what he usually does, it surprised me how well he did with it. The film’s pacing never feels slow and the audience can be easily drawn into the events on screen. The tone is quite dark and bleak, but it matches with the type of character it is telling a story about. I have no problems at all with how this was directed.
As a film in the comic book genre, I feel that this is quite an important film. In recent years, while we’ve had several entertaining comic book films and some of them are now the highest grossing films of all time with many people loving them a lot. There hasn’t been too much out of it that’s been different lately. They’ve mostly been entertaining, but fairly recycled content and experiences. Joker being a standalone film, about just one character, was able to bring something to the genre that I’ve never seen before. I’m not sure if we’ll get anything like this again, but I’d love to have more experimental film experiences in this genre. Joker is an example of something that has turned out to be very interesting, we need more films like this.
For audiences going in to see this, this week. I must say, that you have to be prepared for a film that while it is great, with superb acting, a well told story and some fine directing. One must be prepared for something that is also very dark, filled with themes of mental illness, loneliness, isolation and abuse. There’s a lot of bad aspects from humanity shown in this film and for some, this is going to be a lot to experience. Joker won’t be easy viewing for many casual movie viewers looking for just some action and meaningless fun. But for frequent movie goers, ones who are looking for innovation in this genre or those who like to have a lot of meaning out of their films. They are quite likely going to be blown away by Joker this weekend.
In other areas of the film. The makeup, costumes, set design and overall general look of the film was the best. Everything looked great on screen, with it giving viewers a very authentic experience. Things, felt real, city looked tense and at times very scary. The soundtrack, with the songs playing in the background during certain key moments was also very chilling and matched perfectly with the events in the film.
I’m happy to recommend seeing Joker at the cinema this weekend and I can’t wait for me second viewing very soon. Joaquin Phoenix really impressed me in this film and to be honest, he deserves an award. The directing from Todd Phillips was superb and the story is very well told, with strong character development all the way through. I have not a single complaint about Joker and the film is a possible masterpiece. I’ve never seen anything at all like it and in 2019, it stands out as one of this year’s best film experiences.
Just go see it!
