Joker review: Powerful film stars a brooding performance from Joaquin Phoenix
The IndependentGet our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Get our The Life Cinematic email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The answer given in Todd Phillips’s ingenious new feature is Batman’s arch nemesis, the Joker. As first encountered here, Arthur Fleck is like a cross between Travis Bickle, the vigilante loner in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Rupert Pupkin, the would-be comedian in Scorsese’s King of Comedy. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Phoenix’s Joker is a heavier, more brooding and introspective figure than that of Heath Ledger in Nolan’s The Dark Knight. However, Phillips includes one brilliantly staged set piece on the Gotham subway, involving Joker, hundreds of protesters dressed as clowns, and two hapless police officers caught in the throng.