Joker offers realistic depiction of violence and alienation that feels relevant and unsettling
5 years, 3 months ago

Joker offers realistic depiction of violence and alienation that feels relevant and unsettling

ABC  

After winning the Venice Film Festival competition last month, Joker floats into cinemas on a cloud of advance hype that's like a dose of Joker venom — the villain's poison gas. Phoenix's Joker is a kind of damaged loner, lacking the confidence of his on-screen predecessors, in a film that feels less like a link in a comic book movie chain and more like a stand-alone study of urban alienation and madness. But as angry mobs spill out into the streets in violent revolt, many wearing clown masks, the film's pessimistic and even patronising view is that the masses aren't capable of recognising when they're being duped. Batman doesn't appear fully formed in this origin story — he's still a boy — but the fact he will one day arrive as Gotham's saviour, like a twisted Christian vision, is a given.

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History of this topic

Joker 2 director makes surprise admission about Arthur Fleck’s true identity
3 months ago

Joker 2 director makes surprise admission about Arthur Fleck’s true identity

The Independent  

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. This thing was placed on him, and he doesn’t want to live as a fake …

Review: In ‘The People’s Joker,’ an iconic villain is co-opted for sly trans expression
8 months, 4 weeks ago

Review: In ‘The People’s Joker,’ an iconic villain is co-opted for sly trans expression

LA Times  

The first lines that greet viewers of Vera Drew’s gonzo new film, “The People’s Joker,” are a necessary disclaimer meant to assure audiences that this passion project was never intended to infringe on any known copyright. It labels Drew’s wildly inventive take on everyone’s favorite Batman villain as “a fair-use comic-book parody/trans autofiction.” But much like Drew’s fictional alter ego, …

Wondering why Joker did what he did? Joaquin Phoenix, Todd Phillips discuss controversial talk show scene
5 years, 2 months ago

Wondering why Joker did what he did? Joaquin Phoenix, Todd Phillips discuss controversial talk show scene

Hindustan Times  

Actor Joaquin Phoenix and director Todd Phillips have spoken about the hotly debated talk show scene in Joker. He has that part in his journal, where he says that, ‘I hope my death makes more sense than my life.’ So we’d remember talking early on about the sequence in which somebody wants to take their own life, but they want …

"Joker": A harsh indictment of neoliberalism and gangster capitalism
5 years, 3 months ago

"Joker": A harsh indictment of neoliberalism and gangster capitalism

Salon  

Writer-director Todd Phillips’ “Joker” is a dark, enthralling, challenging, and seductive film about how a cruel and indifferent world can create a human monster. “Joker’s” narrative explores a basic narrative question: How does an ordinary if profoundly alienated man such as Arthur Fleck eventually become a supervillain? Is this Joker the same character from the Batman comic books — or …

The politics of the Joker, explained
5 years, 3 months ago

The politics of the Joker, explained

Salon  

Politics is inextricably linked with popular culture, and few characters are as fraught with political meaning as those who have appeared in America’s recent Batman films. As comic book fans flock to cinema to see “Joker,” the new Todd Phillips film about the iconic clown prince of crime starring Joaquin Phoenix in the title role, let's take a closer look …

Joker is a film that takes itself too seriously but ultimately amounts to a whole lot of nothing
5 years, 3 months ago

Joker is a film that takes itself too seriously but ultimately amounts to a whole lot of nothing

Firstpost  

There was added security at the New York cinema where I watched Joker. I didn’t mind the added bag checks, though it’s admittedly hard to imagine a film like Joker inspiring real-world violence — or inspiring much of anything. The film takes its cues from the works of Martin Scorsese but despite overt plot similarities to Taxi Driver and The …

‘Joker’ ending explained: Director Todd Phillips on fan theories and open questions
5 years, 3 months ago

‘Joker’ ending explained: Director Todd Phillips on fan theories and open questions

LA Times  

When the words “The End” appear onscreen at the conclusion of “Joker,” that really is the end. “Me and Scott and Joaquin, we never talked about what he has — I never wanted to say, ‘He’s a narcissist and this and that,’ ” Phillips said. His last line in the movie is, ‘You wouldn’t get it.’ — Todd Phillips “Maybe …

"Joker" is a wildly uneven mess – and a dangerous one in the wrong hands
5 years, 3 months ago

"Joker" is a wildly uneven mess – and a dangerous one in the wrong hands

Salon  

"Joker" is a movie that you ignore at your own peril. Is it a dark comic book adventure like "The Dark Knight" or a perverse ode to mentally ill social rejects, like the Martin Scorsese classics "Taxi Driver" and "The King of Comedy"? "Joker" aims to be Heath Ledger's iconic iteration of that character from "The Dark Knight" by way …

Is ‘Joker’ a dangerous movie? Our critics have it out
5 years, 3 months ago

Is ‘Joker’ a dangerous movie? Our critics have it out

LA Times  

From concerns over its depiction of violence to wildly divisive reviews, the new movie “Joker” has generated an enormous amount of pre-release anxiety, conversation and controversy. The film nods toward the same enigmatically unnerving qualities as Phillips’ two main acknowledged influences, the Martin Scorsese films “Taxi Driver” and “The King of Comedy.” For a conversation on The Times’ entertainment podcast …

Review: Funny how? In ‘Joker’ a villain turns ‘70s anti-hero
5 years, 3 months ago

Review: Funny how? In ‘Joker’ a villain turns ‘70s anti-hero

Associated Press  

An air of menace and a cloud of controversy accompany the arrival of Todd Phillips’ “Joker” like a thick perfume. The template of “Joker” isn’t anything from the comics but a pair of Martin Scorsese films about twisted loners: “Taxi Driver” and “The King of Comedy.” To make the point, Phillips has cast Robert De Niro, the star of both …

Joker Movie Review: Joaquin Phoenix gives performance of a lifetime in deeply disturbing film
5 years, 3 months ago

Joker Movie Review: Joaquin Phoenix gives performance of a lifetime in deeply disturbing film

India Today  

There is a scene in the film where Arthur Fleck is standing in a decrepit elevator with his neighbour Sophie and her daughter. We've seen Cesar Romero's playful prankster, Jack Nicholson in Batman and no one can forget Heath Ledger's dark and sadistic portrayal of the Joker. Ledger's characterisation of the Joker in Dark Knight set a benchmark, which, it …

Joker review: A (Joaquin) Phoenix from the ashes
5 years, 3 months ago

Joker review: A (Joaquin) Phoenix from the ashes

The Hindu  

Hurt people, hurt people. Set in decrepit Gotham, the film focuses on the life of Arthur Fleck, a wannabe stand-up comedian who’s never felt a moment of happiness in his entire life. Drawing cues from Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy — featuring Robert Di Nero as a mentally unstable comedian — Phillips’ use of tragic humour hits home immediately. …

Review: Joaquin Phoenix puts on quite a show in ‘Joker.’ And the portrait of madness is both bleak and glib
5 years, 3 months ago

Review: Joaquin Phoenix puts on quite a show in ‘Joker.’ And the portrait of madness is both bleak and glib

LA Times  

The best superhero origin stories draw their power from a strange, durable tension: an inevitable destination but an unpredictable journey. “Joker,” Todd Phillips’ sensationally grim new movie about the fall and rise of Batman’s greatest nemesis, fulfills these conventions so that it can turn them violently inside out. Murray is played, with self-aware relish, by Robert De Niro — a …

Joker review roundup: Joaquin Phoenix’s act called ‘one of the greatest, darkest villains’ in cinematic history’
5 years, 4 months ago

Joker review roundup: Joaquin Phoenix’s act called ‘one of the greatest, darkest villains’ in cinematic history’

Hindustan Times  

Joaquin Phoenix’s visceral performance as the downtrodden street clown who transforms into the Joker was hailed by critics as “sensational” and “unnerving” on Saturday, as his pitch-black supervillain origin story premiered at the Venice Film Festival. “I didn’t want a psychiatrist to be able to identify” his personality type,” said Phoenix. “Just like countless others in a metropolis in which …

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