Mini-Review: Joker (2019)

Title: Joker

Director: Todd Phillips

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz

Rating: B+

Recommended?: Yes

---

I liked this because it was totally unlike any other Batman movie. It’s a dark and hard-to-watch psychological drama with an absolutely hypnotic performance by Joaquin Phoenix. His character is twisted and strange and I couldn’t help but feel for him at times, despite the terrible things he does. Throughout the film I kept almost forgetting what character he was supposed to be and that it was set in Gotham, because it felt so unique and self-contained.

Phoenix’s body transformation is hard to stomach and reminded me of Christian Bale in The Machinist and Michael Fassbender in Hunger, it’s amazing what these method actors will do to their bodies for a role. This was a pretty long movie and I felt it dragged a little at the end, it could have been ten minutes shorter. This movie stuck with me for a long time after I finished it, and although it certainly didn’t help with my fervent dislike for all things clown-related it ended up exceeding my expectations.