I’ve been somewhat lax in watching all the films being recognized at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony because I’ve been busy. Last week, I finally saw the most popular of those films, Todd Phillips “Joker”. It’s hard to believe that the director of “The Hangover” franchise has done a complete 180 and created a dramatic masterpiece that will be part of film history. It straddles between two worlds, the real world and the DC Comics universe, but the former seems to dominate.
In the role of his career, Joaquin Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck, a clown and failed comedian living with his mother Penny (Frances Conroy) in a run down apartment in early 1980s Gotham (New York City). He suffers from mental illness and relies on social services for his medication and well being. After being attacked by delinquents, Arthur receives a gun from co-worker Randall (Glenn Fleshler) as protection. When entertaining children at a children’s hospital, Arthur’s gun falls out and he is fired from his job. At the same time, the state cuts all mental health funding, leaving Arthur without his medication. The last straw is when Arthur is mugged on the subway and kills his assailants while donning his clown makeup. What comes out of this episode, will result in a series of more episodes signalling the end of Arthur Fleck and the genesis of The Joker, a symbol for all the downtrodden walking dead in Gotham.
It’s no wonder that “Joker” has the most Oscar nominations for 2020 with an impressive 11 category spots. Every facet of “Joker” from the art direction recreating crime ridden Gotham/New York City to the cinematography and editing work heightening the sleaze and decadence that surrounds Arthur nonstop. However, what makes “Joker” among the best of the best, apart from Joaquin Phoenix’s performance is the score by Icelandic cellist Hildur Guðnadóttir. One would think that a full symphony orchestra would act as the musical accompaniment to the action, but a cello is actually more effective in accompanying the actions of a mentally ill protagonist. It’s why Guðnadóttir will most likely win the Oscar for Best Score in addition to her Golden Globe.
What can be said about Joaquin Phoenix, the man is The Joker, at least the realistic man that one feels sorry for. While Heath Ledger’s was exaggerated in mannerisms and villainy, Phoenix brings humanity to this character. It’s by watching Phoenix’s Joker that the character almost ceases to be a villain, but an unlucky victim of circumstance. Phoenix’s performance is one of those once in a blue moon opportunities where you forget it’s the actor on screen. The character becomes the real life individual. When Arthur laughs uncontrollably and has mental breakdowns, it’s like watching an actual person on the streets or in a mental institution. What Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance in “There Will Be Blood” was for the 2000s, Joaquin Phoenix’s performance is just that for the 2010s and it took until the end of the decade for it to transpire.
As for the other performances in “Joker”, they’re all outshone by Phoenix which is almost a drawback to having such an excellent leading man. Robert De Niro as Arthur’s idol, late night host Murray Franklin emulates the Johnny Carson type entertainment of yesteryear. De Niro’s presence in the film can be seen as cinematic nepotism due to Joker’s similarity to Travis Bickle and Rupert Pupkin, but De Niro seems to pull it off well. Zazie Beetz is great as Arthur’s neighbor and love interest Sophie, who seems to be have Arthur’s same feelings of being overlooked. Brett Cullen as Thomas Wayne convincingly plays the quintessential sleazebag politician, unlike his past portrayals. And then there’s Frances Conroy, who manages to stand out on her own as “mother of the year” Penny Fleck. If it was any other year, I could see her get an Oscar nomination because in the scenes with Arthur and Penny, you can see an outstanding performance that critics should have paid more attention to.
2019/20 is probably one of the most competitive years of recent memory when it comes to Oscar nominated films. With “1917″, “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” and “Parasite” to name a few, gaining momentum in the Best Picture race, will “Joker” stand out and win the top prize? It certainly has Oscar wins for Phoenix and Guðnadóttir in the bag and quite possibly a few more, but this film having made $1 billion dollars and making records as the highest grossing R-rated film, it’s very possible that the achievement will be reflected on Oscar night.
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