Carlos Luna

Joker. A day after seeing it I’m still trying to clarify how exactly I feel about it. It pushes you and twists you and makes you question yourself and the world around you. All this from a comic book story? As a story, it isn’t earth-shattering. We know what’s coming and we know what happens at the end, with one or two small, little twists. But the thing that kept me riveted to my seat was Joaquin Phoenix, his awe-inspiring performance as the Joker, and the treatment of a subject matter that read like a serious study in insanity. It builds up superbly the character of Arthur from a simpleton with problems to a maniac with even bigger problems. What I felt lifted this film above all the other “darker” comics-to-film endeavours is this inner-world of the Joker that it creates. It is those moments in the dark where “normal” people stray only momentarily that the Joker feels most at home. So as the film progresses I felt the absolute urge to question my own sanity. When alone in my room with only my thoughts to keep me company, how close am I from a darkness the likes of which chases the Joker until it eventually engulfs him? The films accentuates this struggle by echoing the current climate of the super rich class, the privileged class, and budget cuts to social infrastructure that leaves everyone else struggling both financially and mentally. This film won’t be for everyone but I’m so very glad about it. It is an adult film, aimed at comic book fans of yesteryear that have now grown up to find life less ideal, less painless, less fair. So it forces you to comply, to accept the world it displays with grit and harshness. Some may not approve of the violence portrayed in this film but is this not a comic book story firstly? And if this film does step into the wide realm of social commentary, then is it not the case that the violence itself is not the problem, but the result of a much bigger one?