Joker is one of those movies that everybody seems to have an opinion on. Is it a dangerous representation of violence? Is it a thoughtless depiction of issues in society? It is funny how people are so up in arms over this when violence in TV and movies is more graphic and prominent than it has ever been before. More importantly though, is it any good?

The short answer is that yes, Joker is very good. Yet be warned, this is definitely a Marmite movie. Some will like its distinctive flavour and some will prefer to lock it in a cupboard to never see the light of day. Even those on the pro side for the film can’t deny that spending two hours entirely in the mind of a sociopath is tough going. But what did we expect from a movie featuring everybody’s favourite grinning psychopath?

As you are almost certainly aware of by now, Todd Phillips’ twisted comic-book movie is an origin story for the Joker. Here he is Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a struggling comedian who suffers from an unspecified mental illness. Arthur is mistreated by friends, family and society at large as Gotham itself has gone to the dogs. Politicians cannot be trusted as the working class are taking to the streets to violently protest.

It is here that Arthur begins to develop his better known persona and the film goes to some truly dark places. It is impressive that the director of the Hangover is capable of something so subversive yet he is aided by a fantastic, committed performance from Phoenix. His Joker is yet another original take on the character but manages to find new layers. It has been said that the audience is made to sympathise with the character but I did not find this to be the case.

Instead, we see the true inner workings of a psychopathic killer which is as exactly as ‘fun’ as that sounds. That for me was the biggest issue with Joker. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t expecting a barrel of laughs but this is something that may not entice viewers to watch it again. One trip inside Arthur’s brain is enough. On the other hand, when is the last time a superhero film took so many risks?

Finally, a word on the controversy caused by Joker which feels completely unnecessary to be honest. Yes, Phillips is depicting topics that rear their ugly head in the real world but is doing so in broad strokes that prevent the film from feeling truly realistic. Saying that, as the movie drew to a close, I became unsettled about the parallels between the events on screen and current politics in America. Not since The Dark Knight has a comic-book movie achieved that so effectively. Which I believe is praise enough.

Image Credit: Joaquin Pheonix’s Joker Look + Set Photos Officially Revealed!, AntMan3001, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0), some rights reserved.

Disclaimer Notice: Any thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely my own. Any images (copyrighted or otherwise) have been used according to Creative Commons and if needed, have been referenced to the best of my knowledge.

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