If you’ve been reading my articles for the past year, you’ll know by now that I’m a huge Marvel Cinematic Universe Fan and also that I’m not very familiar with the DC world at all. I only know Heath Ledger from 10 Things I Hate About You, I haven’t seen any of the Dark Knight trilogy, and my limited exposure to Batman related media was watching Teen Titans as a kid and a few episodes of Gotham. So I didn’t think that I’d be seeing the new Joker movie in theaters, but the hype around the movie and personal testimonies from my friends about how good it was made me see it over fall break.
The Good
I went into the movie thinking that if I enjoyed it, it’d be because it was similar to other comic book movies I enjoyed, with great fighting scenes and the personification of good vs evil in the characters and their motivations. I definitely did not expect to like it so much because of its similarity to my other genre of favorite movies, horror and psychological thrillers. Arthur Fleck’s characterization and transformation into the titular character was haunting and made me reflect on questions of mental illness and class differences driven by capitalism. Comic book movies aren’t known for being cinema, but Joker was a thought provoking piece that reflects on the role society plays in alienating an individual. Joaquin Phoenix’s performance was beautiful and very raw, and he perfectly embodied the Joker’s descent into madness.
The Bad
Though the movie’s strengths lie in its decidedly non-comic book-y qualities, like its character developments and mysterious backstories rather than CGI fight scenes, it was definitely a slow-paced movie. I enjoyed watching Arthur’s interactions with others slowly drive his motivations to become the Joker, but halfway through the movie, I felt like I got the point and was waiting for something to actually happen. The payoff was definitely worth it, as the end of the movie felt like a satisfying release, but the climax could have occurred earlier and allowed for a less rushed ending.
The Ugly
For a movie that I loved so much, I find it very easy to describe the ugliest part of the film: the gore. I knew it was an R-rated movie, but the detail in the violence was too much for me to handle. I won’t say it was gratuitous, because there weren’t more than five scenes with a lot of blood or gruesomeness and it gave to the film’s sense of eeriness. But with today’s heightened anxiety about guns and white men perpetuating violence, the movie’s excessive gore felt misplaced. I think those protesting the movie’s release are going a bit too far, because the movie was tastefully done and promoted discussions worth having. But they have a point regarding the culture of violence today and the connotations of the Joker’s agenda.