As if there’s any doubt. When I first caught wind that comicdom’s greatest villain (there can be no debate on this) and archenemy of my favorite hero Batman, The Joker, is about to get his own stand-alone movie, I became madder than a hatter in a good way. And what’s that???!!! The talented Joaquin Phoenix is cast in the lead role? That’s icing on the cake! Its gritty low-fi trailer reminiscent of ‘70’s movies like ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘The French Connection’ only whetted my appetite that much more.
Simply titled ‘Joker,’ Todd Phillips’ (best known for comedies and ‘The Hangover’ trilogy) latest is an origin story loosely based on ‘The Killing Joke,’ the 1988 graphic novel by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland which served the same purpose. In this movie, we see how the prince of mayhem is born, gradually evolving from a luckless clown-for-hire and failed comedian who lives with his mom to whom he’s destined to become and folk hero of the disenfranchised masses through a series of unfortunate and tragic events. While there were quite a few actors before him who had put on the clown makeup and portrayed Joker in their own twisted ways on screens both large and small (Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Jared Leto and Cameron Monaghan to be precise), Phoenix’s interpretation may be the most fascinating yet for its complexity and sheer manic magnetism, with apologies to the late Heath Ledger (R.I.P.).
Story-wise, there is much to like in ‘Joker’ for diehard comic book fans and casual moviegoers alike. The movie takes a decidedly minimalist approach and places its focus on the psychological rather than physical action, and the setting of a metropolis riven by discontent and class division ready to explode should be familiar to fans of FOX’s recently ended TV series ‘Gotham.’ While comic book purists may bemoan the fact that the Joker depicted in the film isn’t a chemical engineer who fell into a large vat of industrial-grade acid bleaching his skin white and turning his hair green, I actually like it more because it’s believable and real.
Grade: A
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