Joker: a compendium of sorrow

 Super Hero movies have been told many times that they cannot be arthouse material. Personally, I always agreed with this opinion. However, there are films out there which take off the comic book elements, getting closer to the more common idea of cinema. Joker, by Todd Philips, is one of those.

Joker is the story of Arthur Fleck, a man with crippling depression and serious sanity issues, which lives with his mom Penny, in the degraded suburbs of Gotham in this suburban dismay, combined with his terrible psychological conditions, Arthur will slowly turn into The Joker. In fact, the constant abuse of lies and hypocrisy will awaken the main character's anger, hatred and a strong urge for chaos. The main narrative focus is on the mental health of Arthur, and how they get closer to the breaking point while the plot goes ahead. Even if the audience is never brought to justify Arthur's behaviour, the movie wants to make us sympathize with him, putting him on display as a fragile person, full of sorrow. A discomfort from he can't come through, although he's seen as a hero by the lowest class of Gotham, he actually just gave up on his own pain, becoming the clown prince of crime we all know.

Now, let's talk about the technical aspects of the film. The cinematography is wonderfully made, with no embellishments and without using artificial or neon lights, even if it valorises the makeup and the costume of the main character and the greyness of the suburbs, remaining close to natural lights. Also, the direction and all the set-up is well made without particular virtuosity, the cut in particular always follows the rhythm of the story. In fact, every scene is really mesmerising and cruel, giving no hope for the leading man nor for the audience. An honourable mention goes to the audio, not only for the amazing soundtrack but also for the focus on Arthur's laughter; it's really emphasized in the mix, making it even more disturbing. And last but not least, the stairway, which is already iconic. In the first scene, Arthur climbs it in the dark light of dusk, remarking how much he suffers for living his life. But at the end of the movie, Joker walks down the footsteps, dancing in the beamy and warm sunset light, showing his alter ego on the loose, with all his most restless instincts,

So Joker is a film with strong content, an intimate and merciless portrait of nowadays society. Without picking a side up, it shows all the side effects of this society, especially on the weakest minds. Other than that, it's also a Super Hero movie without the setup of those. It is impossible to not recommend this motion picture, even if it might not be so for the most sensitive audience. 

***********************************************************************************

If you enjoyed reading this please leave a comment and share this on your social media, it is a small gesture yet really meaningful for me.

And also, make sure to follow me on my social media as well, I will try to let you know when I come up with more stuff.

FB : Bazaar Di Uriel

Insta : urielbazaaar

Twitter : @TiogeneittP