Joker: Emotions Rush (2019)

By dexpartacus | dexpartacus | 16 Dec 2019

Making credible a Gotham City villain was not easy but Todd Phillips succeeds with particular skill.

The American director who had previously accustomed us to something completely different, reaching fame with The Hangover, an exhilarating comedy that has come to complete a triology, passing by War Dogs, a most demanding comedy, up to the "his" Joker, directed more than diligently which lasts about two hours to watch breathless.

There are so many emotions transmitted during the vision, this is one of his strengths, but those expressed are practically all negative, those that I was able to absorb in the majority were anger, sadness, pain and compassion.

A Joaquin Phoenix, which probably will win the Oscar, manages to play a believable character set in a city that closely resembles the New York suburbs already seen in Martin Scorsese's works.

A prequel of Batman that in this case certainly does not hurt, given its distinctly realistic and anachronistic nature, if Nolan had managed to give humanity and credibility to the billionaire bat, this could be considered the worthy heir of that trilogy, even if almost totally detached from that world.

The actions committed by Arthur Fleck, the main character's name, dictated by his innate madness, are not to be understood or justified, but they cannot even be completely condemned.

Throughout in the whole story there is not a single gesture of kindness in his regards, which was all he wanted. There are many tributes to other films, starting with predecessors who involved the antagonist of Bruce Wayne, such as those played by Jack Nicholson or Heath Ledge or the cartoon and the television series of the 80s. One of the tributes that stands out more is that to Taxi Driver with Robert De Niro, who participated in this film in the unusual role of a television show host.

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There are also many interpretations, which makes it even more captivating and varied, as also stated by the director himself, the situations that happen could all be real, but also only partially or even none.

Philips was unclear about it and gave its viewers the benefit of the doubt and being able to unleash their imagination, on one thing it was clear, the laughter dictated by Arthur illness are all "fake", only one is real and spontaneous, and it is precisely in what could be hidden the key of whole story.

The laughter to which the director refers is that of the final scene, precisely the one leaked by the director's vague statements and subsequent circulating theories, could be a mockery about viewers, he would be laughing at them, in how much they believed what they saw, while everything would only be the fruit of a sick mind imagination.

The director has not been too overreach, he has only said that sooner or later he will break up and reveal his intentions.

Most of the public and critics have praised the film claiming that it has already found the next Oscar winner as a Phoenix and perhaps also as a film of the year, only a small part has not appreciated, some have ridiculed it defining it with the phrase "we live in a society". From my personal point of view, it is too simplistic to define a film that, beyond the plot, is simple and direct, hides and offers much more.

For better or for worse it has hit the nail on the head, so much talk about itself and will most likely continue to do so in the future. There is already talk of future commissions regarding the direction of Phillips in other films prequels dedicated to super heroes and villain's world, which, after this great job, would not be surprising at all.