REVIEW: "Joker" Brings A Dark New Chapter To The Bat-Verse (SPOILERS)

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

The highly anticipated film "Joker", written and directed by Todd Phillips (director of "The Hangover" and "Old School") and starring Joaquin Phoenix ("Her", "The Master", and "Gladiator") was released just a few weeks ago amid quite a bit of controversy about it's depiction of mental illness. But, despite the controversy, it still came in at #1 at the Box Office for 2 weeks in a row, and it's still drawing plenty of people to put their butts in those seats, with many people (including yours truly) going back for multiple viewings.

*SPOILER ALERT* If you have not seen the movie, stop scrolling NOW!

The film tells the sad-but-tortured life of Arthur Fleck, a freelance clown-for-hire in the city of Gotham whose lifelong dream is to become a stand-up comic, and to one day appear on his favorite late-night television program "The Murray Franklin Show". He lives with his mother Penny in a rundown 1-room apartment, who you find out used to work for the billionaire Thomas Wayne but now lives in the slums and awaits for Thomas to help her and her son. It is revealed that due to some severe mental trauma, Arthur suffers from a rare condition of uncontrollable laughter, causing him to have random laughing fits that usually come at inappropriate times. This seems to not only cause problems with his coworkers, but also impedes him from having any sort of normal relationship with anyone. His illness has left him alone and paranoid.

After being fired from his job as a party clown after bringing a gun to a children's hospital, he finds himself in the middle of an altercation on the subway between several young businessmen and a woman. His laughter causes them to turn their attention to him, and he is brutally attacked. As they drunkenly continue to beat him while he's down, he shoots them dead and flees the scene.

This incident onboard the train has sparked a lot of the people of Gotham to protest the rich, including Thomas Wayne, who is in the middle of a mayoral campaign. This gives him a new sense of confidence and clarity, leading him to finally go up on stage and perform his stand-up comedy at a local comedy club. when suddenly, after reading one of the letters his mother was going to send to Thomas Wayne, he finds out that Thomas Wayne and his mother had an affair 30 years ago, and Thomas Wayne is his father.

When he confronts Wayne at a charity event, Thomas denies these claims, and tells Arthur that his mother was fired from the family not because of the affair, but that she had paranoid schizophrenia and adopted Arthur. Confused by all of these startling revelations, Arthur decides to head to Arkham Hospital and find out the truth. After stealing his mother's psychiatric records, it is revealed that Thomas was speaking the truth all along, and that Arthur was the victim of severe abuse from his mother and her boyfriend. This causes him to realize that many of his life moments, including his girlfriend and comedy career, are all just delusions that his schizophrenic mind has concocted in his own head. 

After receiving a call from The Murray Franklin Show, he finds out that his failed comedy routine that Murray played on his show has actually gained some popularity among viewers, and Arthur is requested to appear on the show. Arthur decides to take that opportunity to reveal his newfound alter-ego to the whole city of Gotham. During the interview on live TV, he admits to the murder of the businessmen on the train, and that he was the one causing all of the riots and protests around the city. He is sick of all the rich people of Gotham ignoring all of the downtrodden and broken people, treating them like clowns and jokes. He ends his tirade on TV by pulling out the same gun he used to kill the young businessmen and killing Murray Franklin for all of Gotham to see.

This causes the protests outside to turn to riots in the streets, and Arthur, now known as "Joker", is Gotham's newest anti-hero. The movie ends with Arthur locked up in Arkham, and he quite literally has the last laugh as the curtains drop.

Firstly, Joaquin Phoenix was absolutely mesmerizing as the Clown Prince of Crime. The subtle nuances of his slow descent into madness was a work of art. He truly captured the psychotic side of The Joker, different from the anarchy of Heath Ledger and the crime boss of Jack Nicholson. For a character who historically has not had a backstory, he provides a believable one for comic book fans and non-comic book fans alike to enjoy. If he doesn't get a nomination, it will cement my belief that the Academy truly hates Phoenix and will stop at nothing to screw him over.

Secondly, we must talk about the controversy the movie brings with it. Many people are protesting this movie because they believe that the movie sheds a bad light on mental illness. The argument is that not all mental illness leads to violent acts, which is what this movie apparently suggests. Not to be insensitive, but to those people I ask: what did you expect? It is a movie about The Joker, one of the most iconic and sadistic comic book villains of all-time. I mean, we're talking about a character who is historically known for skinning someone alive, eating the country of China, poisoning cotton candy, and blowing up a school. It HAS to be violent! Anyone who walks away from this movie thinking that The Joker is a typical case of mental illness is missing the point entirely.

We must also acknowledge the fact that while not ALL mental illnesses lead to violent tendencies, some of them do. We cannot ignore the fact that mental illness has been a factor in many of the mass shootings that have happened in recent years. Performance art, at its finest, is supposed to be a reflection of reality that evokes emotions, passions, and strong feelings. I think that this movie, and most importantly this performance, does just that. It is certainly not done in a way that glorifies the violence, but it shows what some people are capable when pushed to the edge of society and have been beaten down to the point of having nothing left to lose. It is an important message that we as a nation need to hear.

All-in-all, I give the movie 4 out of 5 stars, and I highly recommend seeing it. I even recommend seeing it again, as I have done! GO SEE THIS MOVIE!