Joker (2019) - Review

The highest grossing rated R film ever, Todd Phillips's Joker is one of the most incredible movies in history! The box office hit starring Joaquin Phoenix currently has a review of 69% on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.7/10 on IMDB. Before I give my full review on this movie, I just want to make it clear how big this movie was. The highest earning rated R movie before Joker was Deadpool, and Deadpool made over $700,000,000. And Joker was the very first rated R film to cross $1,000,000,000! The release of this film was a full-on event. I've heard so many people saying that they loved it so I don't understand why it only has a 69% rating. I think it deserves way higher and I will explain why. 

First of all, there are marvellous actors in this production. Robert De Niro was awesome, Frances Conroy played her character very well and Brett Cullen portrayed Wayne brilliantly. But the main man Joaquin Phoenix, I believe, has not gotten enough recognition. Joaquin Phoenix fit the role of the Joker so well, it blew my mind. He embodied the role of a man struggling with mental state so uniquely and it was all so incredibly put together.

It's also very much worth mentioning that the cinematography is really, really incredible. Scenes on the train and in the bathroom and in Wayne Manor are all shot so well and pieced together amazingly. The iconic scene of Joker doing his well-known dance in the bathroom with his dripping makeup is crazy-amazing. Some say the movie is slow-moving but it's crafted in such a way that makes every scene something special. It's artwork. Everything is perfect and it's a thrill to look at.

Something that is very fascinating about the movie is the political message that's in it. In the movie, the Joker kills 3 employees of Wayne Enterprises. And a lot of people in the city actually support him because the rich and powerful people don't work to help the people that are in far worse conditions. It's a pretty left-leaning message and it's put together in a really cool way. In the Batman series, Joker is the villain but in this film he stands in the spotlight of a hero. In the film, Joker is the hero taking a stand and trying to push the message of "people need to care more about others."

There is so much good to say about this movie but there is one thing that makes it go from an amazing movie to a brilliantly phenomenal piece of art! And that is the deep, deep message about mental health. I've struggled with mental health issues for a long time and seeing the way it's portrayed in Joker, genuinely meant something to me. Joker is the villain of Batman but is it his fault? He had an unqualified therapist and then they went out of business and he could no longer get his prescriptions. And he lived with his mentally ill mother who also struggled to get better. He lost his job, he found out his mother wasn't his biological mother, his dream of being a comedian was slandered publicly. All of this happening without any sort of help, would take a toll on anyone. Regardless, the story is that Joker is the villain. But I feel more empathy towards the character rather than hatred or resentment. And I, being one of many victims of mental health, loved seeing this topic in a big production.

The movie Joker is an amazingly crafted piece of art and I genuinely loved the whole thing. And to be totally honest, I'm dying to see it again. Whether or not you actually enjoy the movie, I think it's important to acknowledge the uniqueness, the brilliance and the importance of this film.