Forever alone in a crowd, failed comedian Arthur Fleck seeks connection as he walks the streets of Gotham City. Arthur wears two masks — the one he paints for his day job as a clown, and the guise he projects in a futile attempt to feel like he’s part of the world around him. Isolated, bullied and disregarded by society, Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as the Joker.
Where to even begin with this film? Perhaps what made it so hard-hitting is that there was no use of CGI (or very little of it in comic book film standards), it followed one character and portrayed every aspect of his life giving us an in-depth look into his mind and lastly there are real people out there who are suffering in the shadows that we as a society often tend to overlook them and their basic needs. Instead of offering arms we tend to look the other way far too often.
Joaquin and Todd Phillips delivered an absolute masterpiece with this film. The character development was on point, the set design and color palettes filled the mood and the acting Joaquin did as he delve deeper into madness was out of this world.
They left the usual comic book storyline and made this Joker feel a little more real, with real mental illnesses and real hardships and adversities that a lot of us face in life. Throw in a delusional schizophrenic mother (who allowed him to be abused) and an uncontrollable laughing disorder on top of paranoia and psychopathic tendencies etc. You can’t help but feel sorry for Arthur and wonder if his life would of been any different had he received the help he deserved and if he had a support system at home. People can only take so much punishment, neglect, bullying before they snap and that’s exactly what made ‘The Joker’ in this 2019 film. If any lesson needs to be learnt here is that we need to take mental illness seriously and help those in need instead of thinking for ourselves. It’s a selfish world out there and it would be a lot different if we all lived consciously and for one another. All in all this movie was an absolute spectacle, the storyline was masterful, the directing was impeccable and the acting was ferocious.
