Joker- The Clown King of Theatres
Joker (2019) was directed by Todd Phillips and stars Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur. A man who suffers from a mental illness that makes him have uncontrollable laughter at any time. We see his slow descent into madness as he finally realizes who he really is, the Joker. I want to start off by saying, this was the best film I have seen in a very long time. Not only did it make me think, but it constantly had me feeling an emotion. If you are going into this film expecting a lot of fighting and explosions, you won't get that here. This is a character piece done to a tee. A phenomenal performance from Joaquin Phoenix carries the film into places where I never thought it could go. The entire time I was watching the film, I was waiting for him to snap. His childhood is explained in the film and it was heartbreaking. These scenes really made the connection between him and the viewer stronger. It helped me realize why he was doing the things he was. Outside of Joaquins performance, the cast surrounding him was great. Robert De Niro did a wonderful job with his talk show host role. His scene with Arthur near the end of the film was heart pounding and truly terrifying. I was sitting in my seat genuinely not wanting this movie to end. Everything about it was so well done and masterfully crafted to the point where I felt like I was apart of Arthur's brain. I actually felt bad for him, even though he was committing these terrible crimes. I still had hope that he would somehow become good. I really hope that we see a sequel to the movie so Phoenix can steal the show again. Be ready to see him accept many awards for this performance.
My Rating- 10/10
Rating- R
Rotten Tomatoes- 77%