Well. This one was a really nice suprise. Joaquin Phoenix is absolutely brilliant and will be a strong contender to win that golden statue next year, I think. As Arthur Fleck, he is forced to watch his world crumble around him while he desperately tries to hold the pieces together. Not everything is entirely his fault. Gotham in the 80s is not treating its lower class citizens quite right and he is just one of the many victims in the corruption filled city. The movie is a slow stroll from barely hanging on, but surviving to reaching the bottom of a bottom-less pit, finding it full of monsters who are not there to hurt you, but doing the terrible things they tell you to do makes you feel so, so good. Besides the terrific character study of how a ‘normal’ guy can turn into a villian if his surroundings push him to it, the movie also tries to send the message that corruption and misery are prevailing. It lacks a bit in this regard, but I respect what is trying to be said. But, between you and me, that is not why I watched this movie, and I bet neither did you. You and I both know what is going on in the world, we do not need to be reminded of it. But to shape the situation and plot, it definitely helps. What I absolutely adored though, was the framing. Whenever a character has a close-up (and there are many), director Todd Phillips uses the environment to really focus on his actor’s. And it works, very well. It brings you real close and personal. His use of hallways and open spaces to make everyone feel small and like a marionette in a play is also Oscar worthy. The green Joker tint, just finished it off into finger-licking good cinema (See what I did there?). As I’ve not yet seen De Niro in The Kingd of Comedy, I can’t compare him to this. But as always, he was great to witness.
Review by IsharaLionVIP 11BlockedParentSpoilers2019-11-10T22:50:15Z
Well. This one was a really nice suprise. Joaquin Phoenix is absolutely brilliant and will be a strong contender to win that golden statue next year, I think. As Arthur Fleck, he is forced to watch his world crumble around him while he desperately tries to hold the pieces together. Not everything is entirely his fault. Gotham in the 80s is not treating its lower class citizens quite right and he is just one of the many victims in the corruption filled city. The movie is a slow stroll from barely hanging on, but surviving to reaching the bottom of a bottom-less pit, finding it full of monsters who are not there to hurt you, but doing the terrible things they tell you to do makes you feel so, so good.
Besides the terrific character study of how a ‘normal’ guy can turn into a villian if his surroundings push him to it, the movie also tries to send the message that corruption and misery are prevailing. It lacks a bit in this regard, but I respect what is trying to be said. But, between you and me, that is not why I watched this movie, and I bet neither did you. You and I both know what is going on in the world, we do not need to be reminded of it. But to shape the situation and plot, it definitely helps.
What I absolutely adored though, was the framing. Whenever a character has a close-up (and there are many), director Todd Phillips uses the environment to really focus on his actor’s. And it works, very well. It brings you real close and personal. His use of hallways and open spaces to make everyone feel small and like a marionette in a play is also Oscar worthy. The green Joker tint, just finished it off into finger-licking good cinema (See what I did there?).
As I’ve not yet seen De Niro in The Kingd of Comedy, I can’t compare him to this. But as always, he was great to witness.