Due to the publicized controversy, I initially chose to not see this movie despite being highly interested in well-acted non-ableist characters. I finally got myself to watch this- over a year after its release- tonight, while considering comments like one's shouting "ableism!"- which I take seriously unlike others in here unoriginally flinging out trumpist rhetoric. As someone who has also seen mental illness intimately as well as worked closely with people who suffer because of poor treatment on account of it, I am affected deeply when serious mental disabilities such as psychosis or mania are well-portrayed and then demonized. Many, MANY people are affected by mental illness, and ALL people have to reckon with their own mental health/wellbeing whether they call it that or not. So, for obvious reasons, I was wary about the simplistic storyline sold as the Joker "backstory": person with mental illness becomes villain.
HOWEVER. I was doing some unrelated research on the cult history of the Children of God recently and learned that Phoenix and his siblings were actually born into a practicing Family, and had quite the dramatic story of escape and rebirth, which shed some light for me on Joaquin Phoenix's incredible ability to portray non-ableist characters with nuance and empathy. As this is perhaps his most notable work that I hadn't seen, I decided to give it a shot on account of his credibility of someone who I believe cares about the well being of all people and creatures on our planet.
I'm really glad I did.
The oversimplistic and ableist-propogandad storyline that I was concerned about, is not what I found in this film. Instead, I think I found an unusual force of empathy and affirmation for the people who are most unwanted by an ableist society: the disruptors. I did not feel his actions were justified as some necessitated exchange to empathize with him, which is perhaps what the most optimistic version of me hopes for in terms of cultural paradigm shifts our world deeply needs. As other commentaries have noted this film, Joaquin's character Arthur (the Joker) is on screen or in-scene for the entirety of the film. He is never the 3rd person... even when (spoiler) there are revelations later that he had imagined happy moments which were part of the story line, and realizes they were different. It's not disputed (at least in informed circles) that most of history's darkest criminals suffered similar treatment as Arther did; abandonment, sexual abuse, and neglect are common in the backgrounds of most of the criminal record, but are glossed over out of fear of somehow making less of that person's crimes... which unfortunately has had the result of over-ly demonizing a persons illness without reckoning with the causes of that position. I wasn't expecting a film to handle the Joker's character much differently, and was wrong. When the credits started rolling, and many times throughout the movie, I found myself believing that the outcomes of his condition could have been quite easily avoided if he had recieved proper treatment growing up, and (spoiler) if the city hadn't cut mental health social services. The film very explicitly showed how he no longer had access to his medications that had kept him a very honorable son and sweet neighbor, despite being a little "weird." Even when he was recieving city services, though, I think the film made a point to show how over-worked his social worker was in her poorly-lit den with a flickering light and stacks of files surrounding her.
I really appreciated that this film shed light on a nationwide and almost-globally-wide problem of cities who have prospered on account of exploitation, and as a consequence, have created a mental health crisis that would otherwise not exist. Mental illness is treatable, always, despite not always being curable. Furthermore, in MANY cases, mental illness is a product of childhoods that begin in neglectful homes on people who need to be cared for themselves that are exploited by cities that rely on runaway train capitalist economies. I'm glad I gave this film a shot, because all of my fears that this was just one more of the millions of works out there that demonize people who are legitimately suffering were misled. Joker shows what happens when a human who needs help can't get it, which I think is where the controversy lies: people don't want to address the elephant in the room, that the pain they've experienced, while still never justified, didn't have to happen. It offers some sense of closure when one can feel completely victimized... to offer empathy for the person who hurt them "senselessly" and realize... it may not have been senseless to that person, requires a moral culture that most of the western world has colonized.
But then again, maybe I'm just another liberal snowflake.
P.S. I'm not a liberal, though admittedly I did settle for Biden, I align more with the leftist Noam Chomskys of the world as most of the people who got him elected do, but that's probably too high-brow for anyone ready to throw labels in a comment section.
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From the manufacturer
Joker (DVD)
“Joker” centers around the iconic arch-nemesis and is an original, standalone story not seen before on the big screen. The exploration of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a man disregarded by society, is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.
Reviews with images
My dogs love it too!
I've watched this movie twice in 4K. I loved it and my dogs loved it too.
Top reviews from other countries
Marco Petti
JOKER...LA RISATA DELLA FOLLIA ! UN CAPOLAVORO A DIR POCO !
Reviewed in Italy on February 22, 2024
Marco Petti
Reviewed in Italy on February 22, 2024
C'è una tensione continua nel film diretto e scritto con Scott Silver da Todd Phillips. Ci sono le musiche dell'ìslandese Hildur Guðnadóttir che continuano a grattare metaforicamente unghie sulla lavagna al centro del petto dello spettatore, mentre il protagonista, un povero reietto lasciato ai margini dalla società e calpestato, fisicamente e psicologicamente, da quasi chiunque gli stia attorno, completa la sua trasformazione senza che sia necessario l'intervento di una mosca impicciona.
È proprio questo il bello e l'intimamente pericoloso del Joker di Todd Phillips, sta tutto nella descrizione che ho appena dato del suo protagonista. Tutte le discussioni sul pericolo emulazione, il timore di sparatorie nel paese in cui le armi automatiche le trovi in omaggio nei sacchetti di patatine, vanno necessariamente inquadrate in una premessa e una considerazione. La premessa è che qualsiasi cosa può esercitare un'influenza pericolosa su una mente squilibrata, da una certa canzone dei Beatles, metti, alla Bibbia o alle palline di mais al formaggio. E non puoi censurare per questo l'arte, per la semplice ragione che altrimenti si dovrebbe eliminare le favole e praticamente qualsiasi altra forma di narrazione. Ma qui si è nel club del videoludico, del capolavoro.
La considerazione, data la premessa, è che un soggetto che si senta ai bordi dell'esistenza, rifiutato dal sistema, possa trovare facile in Arthur un simbolo, tanto quanto avviene nel film per chi indossa le maschere da clown. Questo perché la pellicola di Phillips ti porta ad empatizzare con il personaggio, sottolinea come ogni data azione violenta di Arthur sia rivolta a chi gli ha fatto del male, lo ha attaccato, ha provocato o accresciuto i suoi traumi psicologici. Sia meritata. Sia, almeno fino a un certo limite, giusta. Il Joker di Phillips è un Punitore triste con la risata incontrollata, un Giustiziere della Notte, e come tale viene visto nella storia dalla parte di Gotham che si sente lasciata fuori dalla società dei ricchi e dei potenti.
Arthur diventa Joker perché il sistema non funziona e non lo aiuta; Joker è un figlio a tutti gli effetti del marcio della società, oltre che un suo simbolo. Il passaggio successivo, la trasformazione e la compiaciuta incarnazione dell'anarchia stessa, fa esaltare il pubblico. Il che nella migliore delle ipotesi si tradurrà in una pioggia di avatar con la faccia truccata di Phoenix sui social network, in una nuova maschera che ne esaltare la sua figura. JOKER È ENTRATO IN SCENA ED È UN CAPOLAVORO !
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Pascal D'Avino
Annonce inexacte
Reviewed in Belgium on May 20, 2023
Pascal D'Avino
Reviewed in Belgium on May 20, 2023
Coffret très grand (comparez par vous même). C'est un import Italien, le 4k comprend énormément de langues mais le Blu Ray, pas de sous-titre francais.
Un peu déçu du manque de précisions de cette annonce.
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