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Joker: Brooks review

A review by Brooks Rich

Joker is a film people need to see.... no matter what critics say. Chris has given his thoughts and now I will share mine. People need to see this film. You need to see it for yourself and judge it for yourself. 

The plot centers on a struggling wannabe stand up comedian named Arthur who watches his life unravel before his eyes, essentially pushing him to a complete mental break. That's all I'm going to say. Let's start with the absolute best part about Joker. Joaquin Phoenix is transcendent in this role. This is not a man acting. This is a man becoming a character. There are moments in this film that are like ballet ..... a perfectly choreographed performance. This film does not work at all without his excellence in the role. He is in almost every frame. There is no justice in this world if Phoenix doesn't win some hardware this award season. 

Slight spoilers ahead. I won't ruin anything plot wise, but some might consider what I talk about a spoiler. My main issues with Joker lie in the pacing, tonal shifts, and the use of the Batman universe. The tonal shifts in the film sometimes work and sometimes they just feel odd. Also there's a big reveal in the third act I thought was done very poorly. It's a derivative twist at this point and the film needed a clever way to do it. They didn't find one.

My biggest issue is how this film fits into the Batman mythology. Yes, Joker is a Batman villain. I am fine with him getting his own origin story as a kind of one-off for a character study. In reality, the best part of the Joker character is that there is no logic to him. It can't be traced back to anything. He represents chaos. But I am willing to watch a retconned Joker origin story. I don't have a problem with that. I do have a problem with having the Wayne family in a somewhat prominent role. In my opinion, the use of Thomas Wayne and his family is this movie’s fatal flaw. There is a plot arch at one point concerning the Waynes and to me it took away from Joker standing on his own in a film. This is not a movie about the Joker. This is a movie about the man who became the Joker. He doesn't need to be tied to the Waynes yet. 

Again this is all my personal take and some people will call me crazy and say Joker is one of the best films of 2019. I wish I could say that, but my issues with the film outweigh everything I love about the film, save for Phoenix. Phoenix is the highlight and should be celebrated. Overall, for me, Joker disappoints more than it delivers. 

Rating: 2/5


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