My Review of JOKER: Phillips and Phoenix Continue to Redefine their Careers

Photo Credit: Variety 

Todd Phillips was a comedy director. Road Trip, Old School, Starsky & Hutch and The Hangover trilogy - he was both prominent and prolific within his little niche.

But even with The Hangover, things started to change a bit. Road Trip was a low-brow buddy comedy; not particularly challenging stuff. Old School and Starsky & Hutch were vehicles for comedy performers who were hot at the time (Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, etc.).

But I thought The Hangover was pretty sophisticated for a comedy - it was a buddy comedy, "boys' trip" movie mixed with the fun mystery of what the hell happened last night? It just had his stamp. It felt different than its less innovative predecessors. I'm not talking about Academy Award winning stuff here; but still, to me, it was a clear step up.

Then came War Dogs; which I reviewed here. Again, this was something a bit different. I even noted the career change back then:

"If you look closely at the canon of Phillips' career, you can see the evolution. It doesn't scream at you; but to me, The Hangover displayed far more skill than Old School, and Road Trip before that. He's refining his skills, and War Dogs is a little more serious than his predecessors. It's weightier, but subtly so. Apparently he's lined up to direct The Joker origin movie, and I'm certain that'll be heavier than War Dogs. Phillips is slowly opening up his range, giving himself opportunities for projects that would have been unfathomable in the past."

And now, here we are, with Joker. Phillips said he decided to leave comedy behind because of "woke" culture. Maybe, maybe not. I totally understand what he said and basically concur with his sentiment, but that was also a little publicity stunt. Martin Scorsese did the same thing with The Irishman, when he basically admonished superhero movies. Any publicity is good publicity. These were "triggering" remarks.

So yeah, maybe that had something to do with it, but I also think Phillips wanted to grow into more challenging material. In some ways, Joker is exactly that. It's dark; it's "serious" and it eventually garnered many legitimate award nominations.

But it's nothing new in terms of plot, or even character motivations. For me, it's Taxi Driver meets Falling Down meets "Prestige TV", where everyone roots for the antihero (The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, etc.). So in these categories, Joker is far from groundbreaking.

Yet I still enjoyed Joker. Obviously, the first thing everybody talks about is Joaquin Phoenix's Oscar-winning performance, and you can certainly make an argument that he was deserving. I really liked his look in this film - he lost a ton of weight and really got into the character, all bones and angles and disturbing body imagery. This is a very physical performance.

Of course, you can't help but think back to the late, great Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. Is this the same Joker? Can we see the similarities? Can we feel them?

Not really; not to me. Ledger's Joker felt more dangerous. Yes, technically this would be years down the line in Joker's life (comparatively to Phoenix's Joker), but Ledger's Joker wanted to burn the world down. He had grand visions. He was a dangerous, cold-blooded killer, and he definitely didn't give a fuck about anyone or anything. He was defiant. Is it sick if I say he was cooler than Phoenix's Joker?

Phoenix and Phillips' Joker is softer. Yes, he kills a handful of people, but the plot offers explanations and/or justifications. This Joker loves kids. He loves his job, entertaining them. The world eventually pushes him over the edge, but he targets a very specific group: the "Haves". Phoenix's Joker represents a class war - the Haves vs. the Have-Nots. In some ways this class war echoes Parasite, which I will review in my next post.

So where does that class war lead in Joker? Nowhere, really. I could see what Phillips was going for, but I don't think the messaging is step-for-step with our current society. (Well, our really current society is obsessed with and overrun by coronavirus.) But at the time of pre-production and filming, I don't think our "woke" culture was fixated on money. Joker's class war is symbolically represented by Bruce Wayne's mansion vs. Joker's apartment. That's a money thing. All about privilege and fancy things and look what I got and you don't. I just don't think the messaging hits in this film. I wouldn't call it a "smart" movie.

** SPOILERS AHEAD **

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed Phillips' technique behind the camera. There's an awful lot of dark vs. light material in his film. Think about the light shining through the window - finally - after Joker suffocates his own mother. Did you notice how dark everything was before that?

Think about when Arthur Fleck "becomes" Joker. He's on the subway. He's under attack by a bunch of slimy, young stockbroker types (again, the Haves vs. the Have-Nots), and the lights are flickering. Back and forth we go between light and dark. Arthur is on the verge of a dramatic change in character. The darkness wins when he murders all three attackers. Maybe it's obvious to see, maybe not - but I knew exactly what Phillips was going for in that scene. The meticulous lighting choices made it crystal clear.

There are also a number of interesting framing, POV and size choices. In multiple shots, Arthur is small in the frame. He's a little nothing up against the broad side of a building. He's tiny. He's insignificant. The world swallows him up and spits him out - until it doesn't. Once Arthur embraces Joker, he gets larger in the frame, and more dynamic. This is his coming out party, and Phillips has altered all of his lighting and stylistic choices. The story in the background comes across very clearly in Joker; that's truly a testament to the improvement and refinement of Phillips' technique.

I also think this is a good-looking film. I like many of the shot compositions - particularly in the first half of the film, when everything is darker and moodier. Each shot is a photo, right? If you freeze it, does it work as a work of art? I think Phillips does some really cool stuff in this department. My hat's off to him.

And, in the end, don't we usually take to revenge storylines? "Killin' Nazis" really worked in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. Keanu Reeves' John Wick has evolved into a dominant action franchise. Liam Neeson's "very special set of skills" turned Taken into a surprise force. When characters are wronged, people like to see them get revenge. Must be human nature. And in Joker, the title character only kills people who have wronged him. Phillips was very careful about this.

Joker is certainly an imperfect movie, yet still a good one. It's a bit all over the place, like Joker himself, but still worth seeing. Hope I provided you with some entertainment during quarantine!

** John Frascella's Score: 7.5 out of 10 **

MY UP-TO-DATE ARCHIVE OF ALL REVIEWS AND RECENT MOVIES SEEN

1. Inglourious Basterds (10/10) - Review Coming Soon
2. The Irishman (9.5/10)
3. Up in the Air (9.5/10)
4. Steve Jobs (9.5/10)
5. Django Unchained (9.5/10) - Review Coming Soon
6. Collateral (9.5/10)
7. No Country for Old Men (9.5/10)
8. The Wrestler (9.5/10)
9. The Drop (9.5/10)
10. Zodiac (9.5/10)
11. Kramer vs. Kramer (9.5/10)
12. Margin Call (9/10)
13. Office Space (9/10)
14. The Hateful Eight (9/10) - Review Coming Soon
15. Marriage Story (9/10)
16. Hannah and Her Sisters (9/10)
17. Mystic River (9/10)
18. L.A. Confidential (9/10)
19. Lady Bird (9/10)
20. Stay (9/10)
21. Gone Girl (9/10)
22. Nocturnal Animals (9/10)
23. 45 Years (9/10)
24. The Edge of Seventeen (9/10)
25. Bernie (9/10)
26. Lucky Number Slevin (9/10)
27. Tape (9/10)
28. A Perfect Murder (9/10)
29. Wanderlust (8.5/10)

30. War Dogs (8.5/10)
31. The Founder (8.5/10)
32. Jackie Brown (8.5/10) - Future Review
33. In Bruges (8.5/10)

34. Split (8.5/10)

35. Bad Moms (8.5/10)

36. Basquiat (8.5/10)
37. Love, Actually (8.5/10)

38. Moonlight (8/10)
39. Pretty Woman (8/10)
40. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (7.5/10) - No Review Available
41. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (7.5/10) - No Review Available
42. Joker (7.5/10)
43. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (7.5/10)

44. The Revenant (7.5/10)
45. The Good Shepherd (7.5/10)

46. The Shallows (7.5/10)
47. Focus (7.5/10) 

48. The Night Before (7.5/10)
49. The Walk (7/10)

50. 10 Cloverfield Lane (7/10)
51. Loving (7/10) - No review available
52. Death Proof (7/10) - No review available
53. Hail, Caesar! (7/10) - No review available
54. Escape Room (7/10)
55. Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood (6.5/10)
56. A Most Violent Year (6.5/10) - No review available
57. The Shape of Water (6/10) - discussed in this review
58. The Boy (6/10) - No review available
59. The Accountant (6/10) - No review available
60. Bridge of Spies (6/10) - No review available
61. The Firm (6/10) - No review available
62. Muhammad Ali: Say My Name (6/10) - No review available

63. Joy (5.5/10)
64. Taking Lives (5.5/10) - No review available

65. La La Land (5.5/10)
66. Pulp Fiction (5.5/10) - Future Review
67. Belichick and Saban: The Art of Coaching (5.5/10)
68. The Visit (5/10) - discussed in this review
69. The Mule (5/10) - No review available
70. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (5/10)
71. Make Love Great Again (5/10) - No review available
72. Molly's Game (5/10)
73. Set It Up (5/10)
74. Get a Job (5/10) - No review available
75. The Interpreter (5/10) - No review available
76. Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars (5/10) - No review available
77. Reservoir Dogs (4.5/10) - Future Review
78. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (4.5/10) - No review available
79. Brooklyn (4.5/10) - discussed in this review, and this review
80. Ocean's 8 (4/10)
81. Everything Must Go (4/10) - No review available
82. Why Him? (3.5/10) - No review available
83. The Program (3/10)
84. Open Water 3: Cage Dive (3/10) - No review available
85. Pitch Perfect 3 (2/10)
86. Shut In (2/10) - No review available
87. Premonition (2/10) - No review available

88. Rings (1.5/10)
89. Mother's Day (1.5/10)
90. I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (0/10) - No review available