Joker (2019)

[Nick]

So I FINALLY caught this tonight. It's definitely haunting and shows that Phoenix is great at reigning in self-control over his own performances. It would have been easy to go over the top with the character and he avoided that.

Also, I'm still amazed that such a brutally disturbing film was able to join the billionaire's club. Guess that there truly is no such thing as bad publicity.

I finally caught this once it hit HBO last week. I loved the movie and Phoenix's performance was great, but only due to it being based on a comic book character did it gross over $1B. Another IP-less movie that was acted just as brillantly and had a script about societal issues and mental health wouldn't have come close. But that's also the thing about the Joker character. It's probably the most interesting comic-book character to see brought to life.

 

[TheGentTrent]

I finally caught this once it hit HBO last week. I loved the movie and Phoenix's performance was great, but only due to it being based on a comic book character did it gross over $1B. Another IP-less movie that was acted just as brillantly and had a script about societal issues and mental health wouldn't have come close. But that's also the thing about the Joker character. It's probably the most interesting comic-book character to see brought to life.

Oh absolutely. I was just shocked that audiences came out in masses for such a film that leaves you feeling dirty in the end, regardless of IP. I initially thought it would settle around $500 million WW because it was rated R and lacked the "fun" that mega-successful comic book movies have.

 

[Nick]

Oh absolutely. I was just shocked that audiences came out in masses for such a film that leaves you feeling dirty in the end, regardless of IP. I initially thought it would settle around $500 million WW because it was rated R and lacked the "fun" that mega-successful comic book movies have.

I think there was an element of shock to the movie that made people feel like they needed to experience it again. Many could at least relate to some of what Arthur was going through - being made fun, the near-poverty, being looked down upon by those more powerful than you, etc. The movie also spoke to a lot of timely political issues.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Finally got around to watching this last night. Terrific movie.

Why exactly did people think this was some alt-right recruitment film?

 

[RevFreako]

Finally got around to watching this last night. Terrific movie.

Why exactly did people think this was some alt-right recruitment film?

It may not have been intended as such, but I imagine those who slobber on the Ben Shapiros of the world saw themselves in the main character, for reasons that are better discussed elsewhere.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

It may not have been intended as such, but I imagine those who slobber on the Ben Shapiros of the world saw themselves in the main character, for reasons that are better discussed elsewhere.

Yeah. Blows my mind because these are the same people who cry “socialism” at any criticism of the top 1% or government doing anything besides the military—look how they reacted when it was suggested that maybe we shouldn’t be cutting Jeff Bezos a blank check for some jobs that may or may not happen at some point over the next decade...

 

[Brian G.]

Huh... never gave a review of the film when I saw it last year.

Better late than never...


MY REVIEW:


:trash:

 

[Lucky Planet]

Finally got around to watching this last night. Terrific movie.

Why exactly did people think this was some alt-right recruitment film?

i remember some stuff about glorifying male rage and violence against women and minorities, glorifying violence in general

 

[Magic Feather]

i remember some stuff about glorifying male rage and violence against women and minorities, glorifying violence in general

Reminds me of this:

 

[rageofthegods]

Finally got around to watching this last night. Terrific movie.

Why exactly did people think this was some alt-right recruitment film?

Remember that 2019 was when all the alt-right violence was happening, stuff like the El Paso Walmart shooting and the mosque shooting in Christchurch. Before that, the prevailing explanation of mass violence like school shootings were that the shooters weren't "treated right" by society, e.g. Marilyn Manson suggesting that the reason why Columbine happened was because no-one listened to the teenagers. However, the overtly racist nature of these acts of mass-violence triggered a huge national debate and controversy over this idea that the reason why there was mass violence was that people - mostly white people - were getting left behind by the system (it started with Parkland and articles like these but the controversy only grew in 2019). Joker, from all the trailers, appeared to be presenting exactly that kind of narrative.

As it happens, Joker was also set to come out less than two months after the El Paso shooting happened, which to my recollection was the real trigger for all the controversy over Joker's release (El Paso was also what convinced Universal to move the release date for The Hunt, remember). It didn't help that the "We Live in a Society" Joker meme was huuuuuge on 4chan at the time, which - since the Christchurch and El Paso shooters were both active on that platform - made it seem especially scary and likely that the Joker premiere itself was gonna result in violence (here's an article detailing that exact fear).

Culture War-y comments like this from the director presumably also didn't help matters.

EDIT: Oh yeah by the way while we're posting reviews, Joker was trash and about the only thing I could recommend about it was that it looked nice, sounded nice and will probably introduce more people to King of Comedy.

 

[Tobias]

Finally saw it recently, and I personally didn't really care much for it. Phoenix did a decent job in it, but that was about it.
I also couldn't help but roll my eyes at the little twist at the end, they probably thought they were being coy/shocking with it, but in all honestly I thought the Teen Titans Go! Movie outdid them in that department with one particular scene of dark humor.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Its funny to see Joker so mixed....it's not as good as Logan but still not a bad film.

It's an interesting take on the Joker, but I do agree without Phoenix I have no clue if it would have been that good. He really makes the film and adds the depth for me.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

i remember some stuff about glorifying male rage and violence against women and minorities, glorifying violence in general

Maybe. All of which, IMO, was ridiculous. I think this article best sums up my feelings:

Joker isn’t an ode to the far right – it’s a warning against austerity | Micah Uetricht

How have mainstream commentators missed the most obvious takeaway of the film? (Warning: spoilers)

www.theguardian.com

 

[rageofthegods]

Maybe. All of which, IMO, was ridiculous. I think this article best sums up my feelings:

Joker isn’t an ode to the far right – it’s a warning against austerity | Micah Uetricht

How have mainstream commentators missed the most obvious takeaway of the film? (Warning: spoilers)

www.theguardian.com

I think the majority of the negative sentiment arose from the trailers (again, El Paso was two months before its release), before we really knew that Joker was about Joaquin Phoenix, anticapitalist-clown; after it was released, the conversation shifted somewhat.