Joker
Overview
Joker is a 2019 psychological thriller directed by Todd Phillips, offering a dark and grounded origin story for one of fiction's most iconic villains. The film is set in 1981 in a decaying Gotham City plagued by rampant crime, massive budget cuts, and a garbage strike that has left the streets overflowing with trash. Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a mentally ill man living with his elderly mother Penny (Frances Conroy) in a rundown apartment. He works as a clown-for-hire, performing at children's hospitals and pawn shops, but his dream is to be a stand-up comedian. Arthur suffers from a neurological condition that causes him to laugh uncontrollably at inappropriate times — a symptom of pseudobulbar affect that he struggles to explain to strangers who find it threatening. He is also in therapy and takes seven different medications, but budget cuts eliminate his access to both. The film depicts Arthur's tragic descent into violence after a series of devastating rejections and betrayals. He is beaten by a group of rich young men on a train, then kills them in self-defense — an act that ignites a city-wide movement of clown-masked protesters who see him as a symbol of resistance against the wealthy elite. He learns that his mother has been lying to him his entire life, that he was adopted, and that he was horrifically abused as a child. He kills his mother, his former coworker who set him up to be fired, and finally the popular talk show host Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro) who had mocked him on television. Joaquin Phoenix delivers a transformative, physically demanding performance — losing over 50 pounds and contorting his body into a gaunt, skeletal frame. His performance is raw, unsettling, and deeply empathetic, making the audience understand Arthur's pain even as they are horrified by his actions. The film explores themes of mental illness, social neglect, wealth inequality, and how society creates its own monsters. The musical score by Hildur Guðnadóttir is haunting, dominated by a lonely cello that mirrors Arthur's isolation. Joker was a massive box office success, earning over $1 billion worldwide on a modest $55 million budget — making it the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. It received 11 Academy Award nominations, winning two for Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix) and Best Original Score. Joker is a disturbing, unforgettable character study that redefines what a comic book film can be.
