Joker (2019)
Country: US/CAN
Technical: col 122m
Director: Todd Phillips
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz
Synopsis:
An already fragile human being, damaged goods after an abused childhood, works as a clown and looks after his mother in a modest apartment in Gotham City. As the garbage collectors' strike persists, he is overtaken by the polarising forces in society and the unkindness he finds all around him.
Review:
Whether it is the presence of De Niro or not, the late 70s art direction makes you think increasingly of Taxi Driver, as Arthur rehearses with a revolver and fantasizes about the girl down the hall; above all, the King of Comedy-like flirtation with celebrity strikes a chord, and one is reminded of when American movies really meant something. At the same time, the idea that Batman as a child had it all, contrasted with the Joker's humble deprivation, is trumped by the device of having an acolyte, not the Joker himself, despatch Bruce's parents: Arthur does not resent the child but merely seek to be like him. As we watch traumatised or horrified while Phoenix with every fibre in his being portrays a man gradually losing his grip on his mind, we are reminded that, whereas superhero cinema offers easy answers to the intractable problems facing us all, the only easy answers are ones with their roots in madness.
Country: US/CAN
Technical: col 122m
Director: Todd Phillips
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz
Synopsis:
An already fragile human being, damaged goods after an abused childhood, works as a clown and looks after his mother in a modest apartment in Gotham City. As the garbage collectors' strike persists, he is overtaken by the polarising forces in society and the unkindness he finds all around him.
Review:
Whether it is the presence of De Niro or not, the late 70s art direction makes you think increasingly of Taxi Driver, as Arthur rehearses with a revolver and fantasizes about the girl down the hall; above all, the King of Comedy-like flirtation with celebrity strikes a chord, and one is reminded of when American movies really meant something. At the same time, the idea that Batman as a child had it all, contrasted with the Joker's humble deprivation, is trumped by the device of having an acolyte, not the Joker himself, despatch Bruce's parents: Arthur does not resent the child but merely seek to be like him. As we watch traumatised or horrified while Phoenix with every fibre in his being portrays a man gradually losing his grip on his mind, we are reminded that, whereas superhero cinema offers easy answers to the intractable problems facing us all, the only easy answers are ones with their roots in madness.
Country: US/CAN
Technical: col 122m
Director: Todd Phillips
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz
Synopsis:
An already fragile human being, damaged goods after an abused childhood, works as a clown and looks after his mother in a modest apartment in Gotham City. As the garbage collectors' strike persists, he is overtaken by the polarising forces in society and the unkindness he finds all around him.
Review:
Whether it is the presence of De Niro or not, the late 70s art direction makes you think increasingly of Taxi Driver, as Arthur rehearses with a revolver and fantasizes about the girl down the hall; above all, the King of Comedy-like flirtation with celebrity strikes a chord, and one is reminded of when American movies really meant something. At the same time, the idea that Batman as a child had it all, contrasted with the Joker's humble deprivation, is trumped by the device of having an acolyte, not the Joker himself, despatch Bruce's parents: Arthur does not resent the child but merely seek to be like him. As we watch traumatised or horrified while Phoenix with every fibre in his being portrays a man gradually losing his grip on his mind, we are reminded that, whereas superhero cinema offers easy answers to the intractable problems facing us all, the only easy answers are ones with their roots in madness.