Simon Heath

Still not quite sure how I felt about Joker. Joaquin Phoenix is outstanding in portraying a desperately isolated individual who doesn’t fit within the norms of society and ultimately snaps when a sequence of events challenges his thin grasp on normality. The narrative of the film is more an advert for mental health issues which limply uses the Joker as it’s vehicle. Imagine the film disaggregating from the nemesis of Batman. Would it have attracted such high viewing figures. Extremely unlikely. Does that make it a bold statement by the Director or an unashamingly disingenuous attempt to deceive the viewer into watching the movie. I think the former, but only just. Overall worth watching for Phoenix’s performance but a one time affair