Angelica Petherick

5/5

Todd Phillips’ ‘Joker’ portrays the more human and less villainous backstory of the ‘Joker. With clear references to Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and seventies cinema, this takes on a whole new perspective of comic book cinema.

Philips portrays Joker as one of society’s ‘outcasts’ as clichéd and overused as the term may be, the audience really does see a whole new side of the Joker rather than the simplicity of the ‘bad guy’. Arthur Fleck lives with his mother within the chaos and increasing poverty of Gotham, trying his best to become a stand up comedian but is constantly beat down, sometimes literally, which is when things take a turn for the worse.

Arthur is not taken seriously by anyone in Gotham city, not by his employer, not by Murray Franklin, and certainly not by the people who fund social services.

‘All I have are negative thoughts. But you don’t listen.’ Joker, 2019 https://www.moviequotesandmore.com/joker-best-movie-quotes/

Arthur’s counselor tells him the city is cutting funding for social workers, a key moment emphasizing the rich taking what they want from the poor and characters like Thomas Wayne representing “a man of the people” despite taking away basic mental health resources hence making a clear statement that Arthur is not taking his medication.

I am aware that the film received criticism for romanticising or idealising psychotic behaviour or mental health issues. I would argue that this is definitely not the case as stated previously, Arthur was not taking his prescribed drugs due to funding cuts. This is the main theme of the film, a man deprived of prescription medication for his mental health condition because of the selfishness of the rich. I have linked Mark Kermode’s review explaining “woke culture”. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/oct/06/joker-review-joaquin-phoenix-ace-turn

In no way does Joker romanticise mental illness or psychosis, nor does it justify his actions. Joker is a human story of a man beaten down by society. I really like the use of the title ‘Joker’ and not ‘The Joker’ as he is commonly referred to, this humanises him as the film does and simply tells his story through wonderful cinematography and the style of seventies film. This could perhaps redefine comic book cinema as more than just general comic book action. Joaquin phoenix gives an outstanding leading performance that deserves an Oscar nomination.

Director ‘Andrei Zvyagintsev’ creates a haunting and real portrayal of a deeply damaged and failing marriage in ‘Loveless’. A couple breaking up struggle to barely keep up a conversation about their divorce and act in almost childlike fashion, as they can’t even see how damaging it has become to their child.

The movie portrays the daily life of the adults who are so obsessed with their idea of a “perfect” life that they fail to pay attention to their own son. The twisted selfish nature of humans is explored through the couple as they try and find their missing son after he goes missing due to their ignorance. The mother continues to ignore her son, as she is constantly caring about only herself and her new relationship as she fails to face up to reality. The father only cares about his reputation and his work. The film maintains a constant tension as if something is about to happen throughout the film, even during the look into the parent’s lives.

There is an awkward and tense atmosphere when the audience sees what their lives are like. Their new relationships are what they aspire to have, and are portrayed in an atmosphere almost like a horror movie, putting the audience constantly on edge. The film focuses on the self-obsessive parents and their fake happiness.

This film is definitely worth seeing and deserves the Oscar nomination for best foreign film.