What to expect from the new "Joker": a fantastic masterpiece from Joaquin Phoenix or another DC failure?

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

It was a real surprise and discovery for many, as well as in doubt that the jury of the 76th Venice Film Festival decided to award the main award to the film "Joker" by Todd Phillips, along with the historical thriller "The Officer and the Spy", created by highly controversial director Roman Polanski. Accordingly, these paintings received the Golden Lion and the Grand Jury Prize. It is worth saying that almost all signs pointed to the Joker award, since during the show on the Lido Island it caused mostly positive, albeit sometimes contradictory, reviews. What is known about this film and what to expect from it?

Briefly about the plot and history of the character

This movie is not the usual superhero story we are used to. Joaquin Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck - a lonely and unhappy man who lives in the city of Gotham, and probably has only one close person and friend - his mother. Fleck also often visits a psychotherapist, because he cannot cope with the condition that prompts him to burst into manic fits of laughter in the most unexpected places. At the same time, he himself works as a comedian, forced to dress like a sad clown, dreaming of becoming famous and giving people joy and smiles.

However, things are not going the way they would like. People often ignore him, laugh at him not when he is joking, but simply in the most ordinary situations, calling him a complete jerk. Wanting to be noticed and loved, Fleck leaves the good path and gradually turns into the Joker, acquiring a craving for violence. This forces even Murray Franklin (played by Robert De Niro), the popular talk show host who has always laughed at Fleck, to acknowledge his status and position.

The story is believed to be based on Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's "Killing Joke," but the filmmakers argue that this is not a complete adaptation of the 1988 novel. It is rather an attempt by Phillips to tell how, where and why such a legendary and well-known supervillain appeared. And behind this story, there are in fact completely different references, for example, to "Taxi Driver" Martin Scorsese and "The King of Comedy". Todd Phillips himself probably realized that the connection between emulation and innovation is extremely thin, and therefore on the screen, viewers will be able to observe completely new pictures and events, which, however, are very similar to everything that we have seen before.

The Joker version by Joaquin and his predecessors

Joaquin will also present his own version of the Joker to a wider audience. In the past, we've seen the silly prankster in a bright purple suit introduced to us by Cesar Romero in the TV series Batman, which was released in the 60s. Also worth noting is the clown that Jack Nicholson showed us in the 1989 film "Batman", filmed in the style of Tim Burton.

This was followed by a more believable and credible version of Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan, released in 2008. And also the very unconvincing and superficially played and portrayed character of Jared Leto in David Iyer's Suicide Squad, who saw the world in 2016. Joaquin Phoenix's Joker is a complex character who moves in a completely realistic, dirty and dark world. Note that he has nothing to do with the superheroes that we are used to seeing surrounded by special effects and dressed in heroic and futuristic body suits.

Fleck has his own mission, and his career as a comedian eventually turns into a slow but orderly, merciless descent into the very depths of Hell. Architecturally speaking, this film is interesting not only from the point of view of the presentation of the character himself, but also from the point of view of the places in which he stays. From the monumental Arkham Hospital to the unlit and gloomy, unsafe streets of Gotham City at night, from the corridors that Arthur fills with his mad, infectious laugh, to the steps where he dances like a heartbroken mime artist, or as a perverse and insane The devil in his human form, thus marking the moment of his transition from a common man to an anarchist antihero.

This transition is also visible thanks to the flamboyant suits of Mark Bridges: a designer who proved his fashion right with his participation in the 2017 film Transparent Thread by Paul Thomas Anderson. Note that this picture won the Oscar for Best Designer Suit a year later. It was Mark who became the man who came up with Arthur's boring, everyday wardrobe, filled with neutral shades, among which are beige and dirty gray. This is in stark contrast to the rich, scarlet suit, jade green shirt, and the Joker's saffron vest.

"Golden Lion" in Venice and connection with real events

The decision of the jury, led by Lucrecia Martel, to award the main prize to the terrible and grinning anti-hero, in general, does not contradict the spirit of the Academy itself, which in the past has already presented the Golden Lion to the most unexpected films. So, it is worth noting such films as "Roma" by Alphonse Cuaron and "The Shape of Water" by Guillermo Del Toro, which, according to the Academy, are also considered incredibly significant and successful. However, in Venice, The Joker became a highly controversial and controversial film, prompting some critics to question whether the film is left-wing or right-wing (conservative or anarchic) and whether it really encourages a misogynistic, albeit involuntary, culture of celibacy. …

However, as people riot in the city streets and the Joker comes to life on the TV screen, thus completing the transformation of Arthur Fleck from a pitiful and insecure loser to a vengeful, insane winner, you can hear him repeating: “This is only me, or is the whole world going crazy?”, which helps to draw a parallel between the film and modern realities. Todd Phillips did find some real-world references in the film, such as medical cutbacks, gun violence, and more. Looking at how someone is moving in the wrong direction, changing and breaking themselves, trying to become "right", you understand that the Joker's vengeful fantasy is not madness, but just the result of life in the reality in which we are.

Change of the vector from DC and the further fate of the "Joker" on the screens

This chilling origin story for a DC Comics antihero was the first to shut down the production line of classic, flamboyant yet soulless superhero films. They were replaced by a very controversial, experimental picture, which is dedicated to all those fans who like to study their character under a microscope, and who care about the history of their development, and not fancy computer battles and tight, cool and bright bodysuits.

Speaking of costumes in the end, it is worth wondering if cosplayers around the world will be inspired by Bridges' new Joker wardrobe? It is likely that this is so, and most likely in the near foreseeable future, we will see not only something new on the screen, but also several sad, frightening and at the same time mesmerizing vengeful mad clowns walking on fashion catwalks from all over the world in tailored, expensive costumes. such as the one worn by the Joker himself.

One can talk indefinitely about the premiere of the film "Joker", comparing the character of Joaquin Phoenix with the legendary Joker, played by Heath Ledger. After all, how many people, so many opinions. But, unfortunately, the second such will no longer be, who passed away at the age of twenty-eight …