Joker Film Review: When Actors Live the Art of Acting, Movies and Players Are Worthy of Awards
Joker is worth watching because this film can tell a complex story in a simple way. Besides that, Joaquin Phoenix managed to make us think that the Joker is not just Heath Legder.
I am a regular person about doing an activity. Today watching the movie Seven Samurai, next week I have to finish Fyodor Dostoevsky's book. When it comes to movies, everyone has their own taste and judgment. For that reason, let me rate one of the phenomenal films of 2019, “Joker”.
Before starting, please note that “Joker” is a film that has received a positive response from critics and film lovers alike. Even the film, starring Joaquin Phoenix, received an 8-minute standing ovation when it was screened at the Venice Film Festival. It didn't stop there, the film "Joker" was also nominated for best film at the Academy Awards.
Joaquin Phoenix managed to get out of the shadow of Heath Ledger's version of Joker
When I hear the word Joker, my mind automatically sorts out memories and movies I've watched. My mind managed to remember one name, which was Heath Ledger. It can't be denied, many people agree that Heath Ledger's version of Joker is so iconic. There are even rumors that the actor died because he couldn't let go of the Joker character after he finished playing it.
For this reason, Heath Ledger has become a kind of standard Joker version of the big screen. So in subsequent films, people have their own burden of playing the Joker. For example, we can understand Jared Letto's poor acting quality in the film "Suicide Squad", because there are difficulties playing the Joker character plus the 'Standard Legder' earlier.
Warner Bros. and Todd Philips have great courage and guts to take the Joker story in full for 2 hours 2 minutes. The challenge in working on this film, of course, lies in the quality of the actors who play the role as well as the description of the atmosphere and storyline.
Luckily, Joaquin Phoenix managed to portray Arthur Fleck and the Joker perfectly. He emerges from Legder's shadow playing the criminal-minded, brutal, and anarchic Joker persona, becoming a sick, sad Joker who ends up explosively at the end of the story. When that threshold was crossed, the result was Joaquin being best actor at last year's Oscars.
“Joker”, a film that manages to play the tone, atmosphere, and vibes of a psychological film through the pictures it displays
From my observations, Todd Philips can neatly mix the entire contents of the film neatly. The strength of this film lies in the quality of the cinematography and the quality of the acting. It can even be said that the quality of the cinematography is first-class. Taking pictures and the tones, and colors that are displayed can build the atmosphere from scene to scene. In addition, the fresh storyline makes us thrown back into memory when watching films that disturb the psychology of the audience.
In terms of the storyline, I don't think there is a gap for me to comment on this. For comparison, watching the movie “Joker” reminds me of the movie “Taxi Driver”, Martin Scorsese's Magnum-Opus mixed with the conflict presented by the drama film in “Raging Bull”.
My speculation is that Arthur Fleck's story is similar to the story of Travis Bickle's character, a taxi driver in the movie "Taxi Driver". Travis Bickle is played by Robert De Niro who also plays an important character in the film "Joker", I think this is quite funny because Robert De Niro seems to be reminiscing about his youth.
What makes "Joker" different from "Taxi Driver" is a matter of how to tell the story. That is, in "Taxi Driver", Travis Bickle's madness is not clearly explained by Scorsese and just evaporates, causing debate and confusion, even the audience's anxiety after leaving the cinema door. In fact, after watching the movie "Taxi Driver", there will not be a single line like "bad people are good people who get hurt".
In the end the film "Joker" proves that the soul and totality of an actor can bring the soul to life in a film
However, "Joker" is not a bad film. Telling stories that lead us to the estuary of truth is also good for the audience. The audience will not be confused in the end. Yes, after watching, we as viewers can sort out which ones are reality and which are delusions that only exist in Arthur Fleck's head. Even this formula can give us a more diverse viewing experience because we are always presented with sudden plot twists or even no twists at all. And this is what makes the audience excited.
"Joker" is a film that emphasizes character strengthening, so the quality of shooting must be considered. This film uses a lot of close up techniques to strengthen character development. Close up technique will look perfect if the actor plays his part well. Joaquin Phoenix did an amazing job playing Arthur Fleck.
The cause of the story in this film tells about the origin of the Joker who does not follow the comic version, making this film look fresh and authentic. This is due to Phoenix's total acting. The unexpected ways of laughing, gesturing, micro-expressions really come out and make this amazing. I think all audiences of this film were swept away by seeing the Joker's life story that was built in the film: pain, sadness, weakness and horror in one package.
Lead image from imdb.com
