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Joker is a 2019 American psychological thriller film directed and produced by Todd Phillips, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Silver. The film, based on DC Comics characters, stars Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker and provides a possible origin story for the character. Set in 1981, it follows Arthur Fleck, a failed clown and stand-up comedian whose descent into insanity and nihilism inspires a violent counter-cultural revolution against the wealthy in a decaying Gotham City. Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Bill Camp, Shea Whigham, and Marc Maron appear in supporting roles. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, Joker was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Films in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, Bron Creative and Joint Effort.
Phillips conceived Joker in 2016 and wrote the script with Silver throughout 2017. The two were inspired by 1970s character studies and the films of Martin Scorsese (particularly Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy), who was initially attached to the project as a producer. The film loosely adapts plot elements from Batman: The Killing Joke (1988), but Phillips and Silver otherwise did not look to specific comics for inspiration. Phoenix became attached in February 2018 and was cast that July, while the majority of the cast signed on by August. Principal photography took place in New York City, Jersey City, and Newark, from September to December 2018. Joker is the first live-action theatrical Batman film to receive an R rating from the Motion Picture Association.
Joker had its world premiere at the 76th Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2019, where it won the Golden Lion, and was released in the United States on October 4, 2019. While Phoenix's performance, the direction, visual style, editing, musical score, and cinematography were praised, the dark tone, portrayal of mental illness, and handling of violence divided opinions and generated concerns of inspiring real-life violence. Despite this, Joker was a box office success and set records for an October release. It grossed over $1 billion, the first R-rated film to do so, and became the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2019 during its theatrical run. The film also received numerous accolades. At the 92nd Academy Awards, it earned a leading 11 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, winning Best Actor for Phoenix and Best Original Score for Hildur Guðnadóttir.
Plot[]
Party clown and aspiring stand-up comedian Arthur Fleck lives with his mother, Penny, in Gotham City, which is rife with crime and unemployment. Arthur suffers from a neurological disorder that causes him to laugh at inappropriate times, depending on social services for medication. After he is attacked by delinquents, Arthur's co-worker Randall gives him a gun for self-defense. Arthur pursues a relationship with his neighbor, single mother Sophie Dumond, and invites her to his upcoming stand-up routine at a nightclub.
While entertaining at a children's hospital, Arthur's gun falls out of his pocket. He is fired when Randall lies to their manager that the gun was Arthur's own. On the subway, still in clown makeup and depressed by the layoff, Arthur is ridiculed and beaten by three drunk businessmen from Wayne Enterprises after breaking into laughter while they sexually harass a woman; he shoots two of them in self-defense and murders the third as he attempts to flee. The killings are condemned by billionaire mayoral candidate Thomas Wayne, who calls those envious of more successful people "clowns". Demonstrations against Gotham's rich people begin, with protesters donning clown masks in Arthur's image. Budget cuts shut down the social service program, leaving Arthur without his therapy and medication.
Sophie attends Arthur's stand-up routine, which goes poorly; he laughs uncontrollably, and his jokes fall flat. Arthur intercepts a letter from Penny to Thomas, alleging that he is Thomas's illegitimate son, and berates his mother for hiding the truth. He goes to Wayne Manor, where he meets Thomas's young son Bruce, but flees after a scuffle with family butler Alfred Pennyworth. Following a visit from two police detectives investigating the subway murders, Penny suffers a stroke and is hospitalized. Arthur's idol, popular late-night talk show host Murray Franklin, mocks Arthur by showing clips from the comedy routine on his show, calling him a "joker".
Arthur sneaks into a private movie theater event and confronts Thomas, who tells him that Penny is delusional and not his biological mother. In denial, Arthur visits Arkham State Hospital and steals Penny's file, which states she was a narcissist who adopted Arthur while working as a housekeeper for the Waynes in the 1950s. Penny then raised Arthur with her abusive boyfriend, who was later arrested and died in jail. For allowing the abuse Penny was sent to Arkham, where she maintained that Thomas truly was Arthur's father and that Thomas had fabricated the file in order to hide his relationship with Penny. Distraught, Arthur returns home and enters Sophie's apartment unannounced. Frightened, Sophie asks him to leave, revealing their relationship to have been a figment of Arthur's delusions. The following day, Arthur murders Penny at the hospital by smothering her with her bed pillow.
Arthur is invited to appear on Murray's show due to the popularity of his stand-up clips. He is visited by ex-colleagues Randall and Gary. Arthur brutally kills Randall out of revenge but spares Gary for treating him well in the past. The two detectives find Arthur, now wearing a colorful suit and face paint, and pursue him onto a subway filled with clown protesters. One detective accidentally shoots a protester, thus inciting a riot, while Arthur escapes.
Before the show goes live, Arthur asks Murray to introduce him as Joker, a reference to Murray's mockery. The Joker waltzes out to applause in a lewd manner, and the mood changes when he begins telling morbid jokes, confesses to the subway murders, rants about how society abandons the downtrodden and mentally ill, and berates Murray for mocking him. When Murray criticizes him and threatens to call the police, the Joker shoots and kills him on live television. He is arrested for the murders he committed as riots erupt across Gotham. One of the rioters corners the Wayne family in an alley and murders Thomas and his wife, sparing Bruce. Rioters in an ambulance crash into the police car carrying the Joker, freeing him; he stands atop the car, starts to dance to the cheers of the crowd, and smears blood on his face in the shape of a smile.
At Arkham State Hospital, Arthur laughs to himself about a joke. When asked what it is, he tells his psychiatrist: "You wouldn't get it". He attempts to escape the hospital, leaving behind bloodied shoeprints as an orderly pursues him.
Cast[]
- Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck / Joker: A mentally ill, impoverished party clown and stand-up comedian disregarded by society, whose history of abuse causes him to become a nihilistic criminal with a clown motif. Phoenix had been interested in a low-budget "character study" of a comic book character, and said the film "feels unique, it is its own world in some ways, and maybe [...] It might as well be the thing that scares you the most."
- Robert De Niro as Murray Franklin: A talk show host who plays a role in Arthur's downfall. De Niro said his role in Joker pays homage to his character from The King of Comedy (1983), Rupert Pupkin, who is a comedian obsessed with a talk-show host.
- Zazie Beetz as Sophie Dumond: A cynical single mother and Arthur's "love interest". Beetz, a "huge fan" of Phoenix, said that it was "an honor" to co-star with him, and that she learned a lot working with him on set.
- Frances Conroy as Penny Fleck: Arthur's mentally and physically ill mother, who formerly worked for Thomas Wayne. The Canadian actress Hannah Gross portrays a young Penny.
Additionally, Brett Cullen portrays Thomas Wayne, a billionaire running for mayor of Gotham. Alec Baldwin was initially cast in the role but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Carrie Louise Putrello portrays Thomas's wife Martha, although the character has no lines and is never referred to by name. Douglas Hodge plays Alfred Pennyworth, the butler and caretaker of the Wayne family, and Dante Pereira-Olson plays Bruce Wayne, Thomas' son, who becomes the Joker's archenemy Batman as an adult.
Additional cast members include: Glenn Fleshler and Leigh Gill as Randall and Gary, Arthur's clown co-workers; Bill Camp and Shea Whigham as detectives Garrity and Burke in the Gotham City Police Department; Marc Maron as Gene Ufland, a producer on Franklin's show; Sharon Washington as Arthur's Social Worker; Josh Pais as Hoyt Vaughn, Arthur's agent; Brian Tyree Henry as Clark, a clerk at Arkham State Hospital; Ben Warheit, Michael Benz, and Carl Lundstedt as bankers who harass Arthur; Gary Gulman as a comedian; and Bryan Callen as Javier, a co-worker of Arthur. Justin Theroux has an uncredited cameo as Ethan Chase, a celebrity guest on Franklin's show.
Production[]
Development[]
Between 2014 and 2015, Joaquin Phoenix expressed interest to his agent in acting in a low-budget "character study" type of film about a comic book villain, like DC Comics character the Joker. Phoenix had previously declined to act in the Marvel Cinematic Universe because he would have been required to reprise a role, such as the Hulk (initially portrayed by Edward Norton) or Doctor Strange, in multiple films. Phoenix ruled out the Joker for his "character study" idea and tried to think of a different one. "I thought, 'You can't do the Joker, because, you know, it's just you can't do that character, it's just been done.'" Phoenix's agent suggested setting up an exploratory meeting with Warner Bros., but he declined and let go of the idea. Similarly, Todd Phillips had been offered to direct comic-based films a number of times, but declined because he thought they were "loud" and did not interest him. According to Phillips, Joker was created from his idea to create a different, more grounded comic book film. He was attracted to the Joker because he did not think there was a definitive portrayal of the character, which he knew would provide considerable creative freedom.
Phillips pitched the idea for Joker to Warner Bros. after his film War Dogs premiered in August 2016. Prior to War Dogs, Phillips was mostly known for his comedy films, such as Road Trip (2000), Old School (2003), and The Hangover (2009); War Dogs marked a venture into more unsettling territory. During the premiere, Phillips realized "War Dogs wasn't going to set the world on fire and I was thinking, 'What do people really want to see?'" In addition, He found that it was difficult to make comedy films in the "woke culture", throughout opposition of "30 million people on Twitter". He finally thought that "How do I do something irreverent, but f--- comedy? Oh I know, let’s take the comic book movie universe and turn it on its head with this". He proposed that DC Films differentiate its slate from the competing Marvel Studios' by producing low-budget, standalone films. After the successful release of Wonder Woman (2017), DC Films decided to deemphasize the shared nature of its DC-based film franchise, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). In August 2017, Warner Bros. and DC Films revealed plans for the film, with Phillips directing and co-writing with Scott Silver, and Martin Scorsese set to co-produce with Phillips. According to Tatiana Siegel of The Hollywood Reporter, Scorsese considered directing Joker before Phillips was chosen, though a Warner Bros. source said he only became involved because the film needed a New York City-based producer.
According to Kim Masters and Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter, Jared Leto, who portrayed the Joker in the DCEU, was displeased by the existence of a project separate from his interpretation. In October 2019, Masters reported that Leto "felt 'alienated and upset'" when he learned that Warner Bros.—which had promised him a standalone DCEU Joker film—let Phillips proceed with Joker, going as far as to ask his music manager Irving Azoff to get the project canceled. Masters added that Leto's irritation was what caused him to end his association with Creative Artists Agency (CAA), as he believed "his agents should have told him about the Phillips project earlier and fought harder for his version of Joker." However, sources associated with Leto deny that he attempted to get Joker canceled and left CAA because of it.
Warner Bros. pushed for Phillips to cast Leonardo DiCaprio as the Joker, hoping to use his frequent collaborator Scorsese's involvement to attract him. However, Phillips said that Phoenix was the only actor he considered, and that he and Silver wrote the script with Phoenix in mind, "The goal was never to introduce Joaquin Phoenix into the comic book movie universe. The goal was to introduce comic book movies into the Joaquin Phoenix universe." Phoenix said when he learned of the film, he became excited because it was the kind he was looking to make, describing it as unique and stating it did not feel like a typical "studio movie." It took him some time to commit to the role, as it intimidated him and he said "oftentimes, in these movies, we have these simplified, reductive archetypes, and that allows for the audience to be distant from the character, just like we would do in real life, where it's easy to label somebody as evil, and therefore say, 'Well, I'm not that.'"
Writing[]
Phillips and Silver wrote Joker throughout 2017, and the writing process took about a year. According to producer Emma Tillinger Koskoff, it took some time to get approval for the script from Warner Bros., partly because of concerns over the content. Similarly, Phillips commented that there were "a zillion hurdles" during the year-long writing process due to the visibility of the character. Phillips said that while the script's themes may reflect modern society, the film was not intended to be political. He also noted that Joker is a story about child trauma and mental illness. In Deadline Hollywood interview, Phillips talked about how difficult it is for patients to reveal their diagnoses, referring to a line from the film: "The worst part of having a mental illness is that people expect you to behave as if you don’t."
The script draws inspiration from Scorsese films such as Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), and The King of Comedy (1983), as well as Phillips' Hangover Trilogy. Other films Phillips has cited as inspiration include character studies released in the 1970s—such as Serpico (1973) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)—the silent film The Man Who Laughs (1928), and several musicals. Phillips said that aside from the tone, he did not consider Joker that different from his previous work, such as his Hangover films. The film's premise was inspired by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke (1988), which depicts the Joker as a failed stand-up comedian, while the climactic talk show scene was inspired by a similar scene in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns (1986). However, Phillips said the film does not "follow anything from the comic books... That's what was interesting to me. We're not even doing Joker, but the story of becoming Joker." Phillips later clarified that he meant they did not look to a specific comic for inspiration, but rather "picked and chose what we liked" from the character's history. Having grown up in New York, Phillips also drew inspiration from life in New York City during the early 1980s. The Subway shooting scene and its aftermath were inspired by the 1984 New York City Subway shooting, while Arthur Fleck is partially based on the shooting's perpetrator, Bernhard Goetz.
Phillips and Silver found the most common Joker origin story, in which the character is disfigured after falling into a vat of acid, too unrealistic. Instead, they used certain elements of the Joker lore to produce an original story, which Phillips wanted to feel as authentic as possible. Because the Joker does not have a definitive origin story in the comics, Phillips and Silver were given considerable creative freedom and "pushed each other every day to come up with something totally insane." While the Joker had appeared in several films before, Phillips thought it was possible to produce a new story featuring the character. "It's just another interpretation, like people do interpretations of Macbeth," he told The New York Times. However, they did try to retain the ambiguous "multiple choice" nature of the Joker's past by positioning the character as an unreliable narrator—with entire storylines simply being his delusions—and left what mental illnesses he suffers from unclear. As such, Phillips said the entire film is open to interpretation.
When a draft of the film's script, written in April 2018, was leaked and spread on the internet, Phillips stated that it was old version from six months before filming began. Phillips also declined to take legal action against the spread of the script, stating that he liked having an old version circulate.
Pre-production[]
Following the disappointing critical and financial performance of Justice League (2017), in January 2018 Walter Hamada replaced Jon Berg as the head of DC-based film production at Warner Bros. Hamada sorted through the various DC films in development, canceling some while advancing work on others; the Joker film was set to begin filming in late 2018 with a small budget of $55 million. Masters reported that Warner Bros. was reluctant to let Joker move forward, and gave it a small budget in an effort to dissuade Phillips. Phillips said that Hamada did not understand what he was trying to do. By June, Robert De Niro was under consideration for a supporting role in the film. The deal with Phoenix was finalized in July 2018, after four months of persuasion from Phillips. Immediately afterwards, Warner Bros. officially green-lit the film, titled it Joker, and gave it an October 4, 2019, release date. Warner Bros. described the film as "an exploration of a man disregarded by society [that] is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale."
Scorsese's longtime associate Koskoff joined to produce, although Scorsese left his producing duties due to other obligations. Scorsese considered serving as an executive producer, but was preoccupied with his film The Irishman. It was also confirmed that the film would have no effect on Leto's Joker and would be the first in a new series of DC films unrelated to the DCEU. In July, Zazie Beetz was cast in a supporting role, and De Niro entered negotiations in August. Frances McDormand declined an offer to portray the mother of the Joker, and Frances Conroy was cast. At the end of July, Marc Maron, and Bryan Callen joined the cast. Alec Baldwin was cast as Thomas Wayne on August 27, but dropped out two days later due to scheduling conflicts. Baldwin also noted the character's description as a reason for his departure, which called Thomas Wayne "a cheesy and tanned businessman who is more in the mold of a 1980s Donald Trump".
Filming[]
Principal photography commenced in September 2018 in New York City, under the working title Romeo. Shortly after filming began, De Niro, Brett Cullen, Shea Whigham, Glenn Fleshler, Bill Camp, Josh Pais, and Douglas Hodge were announced to have joined the film, with Cullen replacing Baldwin. Bradley Cooper joined the film as a producer, and the director of photography was Lawrence Sher, both of whom Phillips had previously collaborated with. On September 22, a scene depicting a violent protest was filmed at the Church Avenue station in Kensington, Brooklyn, although the station was modified to look like the Bedford Park Boulevard station in the Bronx. Filming of violent scenes also took place at the abandoned lower platform of the Ninth Avenue station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
According to Beetz, Phillips rewrote the entire script during production; because Phoenix lost so much weight for the film, there would not be an opportunity for reshoots. She recalled, "we would go into Todd's trailer and write the scene for the night and then do it. During hair and makeup we'd memorize those lines and then do them and then we'd reshoot that three weeks later." Phillips recalled Phoenix sometimes walked off-set during filming because he lost self-control and needed to compose himself—to the confusion of other actors, who felt they had done something wrong. De Niro was one of the few Phoenix never walked out on, and De Niro said he was "very intense in what he was doing, as it should be, as he should be."
Filming in Jersey City started on September 30 and shut down Newark Avenue, while filming in November, starting on November 9, shut down Kennedy Boulevard. Filming in Newark began on October 13 and lasted until October 16. Shortly before the Newark filming, SAG-AFTRA received a complaint that extras were locked in subway cars for more than three hours during filming in Brooklyn, a break violation. The issue was quickly resolved after a representative visited the set. That month, Dante Pereira-Olson joined the cast as a young Bruce Wayne. Whigham said towards the end of October the film was in "the middle" of production, adding that it was an "intense" and "incredible" experience. By mid-November, filming had moved back to New York. Filming wrapped on December 3, 2018, with Phillips posting a picture on his Instagram feed later in the month to commemorate the occasion.
In The Hollywood Reporter interview, Emma Tillinger Koskoff said that most stressful filming is "Stair Dance" scene; because there were no laws on paparazzi in New York City, filming was disrupted by them. Initially, Lawrence Sher and Phillips wanted to film by 70mm shoot, but Warner Bros. rejected due to cost.
Post-production[]
Phillips confirmed he was in the process of editing Joker in March 2019. At CinemaCon the following month, he stated the film was "still taking shape" and was difficult to discuss, as he hoped to maintain secrecy. Phillips also denied most reports surrounding the film, which he felt was because it is "an origin story about a character that doesn't have a definitive origin." Brian Tyree Henry was also confirmed to have a role in the film. The visual effects were provided by Scanline VFX and Shade VFX and supervised by Matthew Giampa and Bryan Godwin, with Erwin Rivera serving as the overall supervisor. Joker used less VFX work than other comics films, except few scenes including that Arthur smeared smile by his blood in crowd.
One scene that was cut from the film depicted Sophie watching Arthur's appearance on Franklin's show. The scene was intended to show the audience that she is still alive (as the film otherwise implies that Arthur kills her), but Phillips decided it would disrupt the narrative, which is portrayed from Arthur's point of view. In another deleted scene, Arthur reveals his crimes to a co-worker; the scene was ultimately removed because it provided "too much information" in the form of exposition.
The film's final budget was $55–70 million, considered by The Hollywood Reporter "a fraction" of the cost of a typical comic book-based film. In comparison, the previous villain-centric DC film, Suicide Squad (2016), cost $175 million. $25 million of Joker's budget was covered by the Toronto-based financing company Creative Wealth Media, while Village Roadshow Pictures and Bron Studios each contributed 25%. Joker was also the first live-action theatrical film in the Batman film franchise to receive an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, due to "strong bloody violence, disturbing behavior, language, and brief sexual images." In the United Kingdom, the BBFC gave the film a 15 certificate for "strong bloody violence [and] language".
Design[]
Set[]
Gotham City in Joker was set in 1980s New York City, according to Todd Phillips, "to separate it, quite frankly, from the DC universe". Mark Friedberg, the production designer of this film, said he established the filming location of Gotham Square in Newark as a film set because there was still poverty. He wanted Gotham to look like a gritty city, as described in Taxi Driver, therefore named all structures and lines in this film and drew a specific map of Gotham city. He displayed 1970s brightly colored muscle cars on the set, "conveying dissonance and being awful and beautiful at the same time". He also tried to describe Gotham as a decaying city through graffiti, garbage on the road, and cracked sidewalks. The VFX team added fictional buildings, changing the skyline of the city to give the sense that the city was pressing down on Arthur. Lawrence Sher said sodium-vapor lights were used in this film, representing Arthur's isolation and his more hopeful side.
Arkham State Hospital is based on Arkham Asylum. Warner Bros. Korea explained that it is a more realistic name in the real world. The exterior of Arkham State hospital was filmed at Brooklyn Army Terminal, while the interior was pictured in Metropolitan Hospital Center of Harlem. Throughout the film, two walls are shown inside Arkham State Hospital; one is clearly white in the first and last scenes, the other is dirty yellow in the scene in which Arthur runs with a medical report. This difference was intended to make the audience confused, and to question the possibility that Arthur had been in hospital the entire time.
In Gotham City, there are Easter eggs related to other Batman series and the real world. The theater scene displays posters of Zorro, The Gay Blade and Excalibur, commonly found visual elements in other media when the parents of Bruce Wayne are dead, including Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.; additionally, the poster of Arthur, released in 1981, noticed a specific period in this film. On the wall near Arthur's office is graffiti, written "Amusement Miles", a reference to an old amusement park that the Joker uses for his plan in Batman: The Killing Joke. The norm "Super Rat" in radio broadcast referred to Ratcatcher, one of the Batman villains. Pogo's Comedy Club where Arthur played stand-up show is named after stage name of John Wayne Gacy, being notorious as "killer clown". The billboard written "Ace in the hole", located on behind of clowns in the last scene, was from a line of Joker in The Dark Knight; he used it to describe Harvey Dent, finally depraved as Two-Face the villain.
However, Phillips said possible Easter eggs related to other DC media were all "coincidences", while he confirmed them in Wayne Manor, in interview with IGN; the gym pole used by Bruce Wayne evokes the "bat-pole" in the Batman TV series. Collider's Gregory Lawrence considered it is because Phillips and Phoenix wanted the film to "be taken as its own piece, without any connections or links to the DC universe".
Character design[]
One of the most important inspiration affected behavior of Arthur is Little Tramp in Modern Times. Phillips confirmed that his ridiculous movement was referred from Charlie Chaplin, in commentary video of Vanity Fair. Phoenix revealed that Arthur's dance was inspired by that of Ray Bolger, while the gesture making smile by two fingers was from scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. In preparation, Phoenix lost 52 pounds (24 kg) to look like “wolf-like and malnourished and hungry.”, and based his laugh on "videos of people suffering from pathological laughter." He also sought to portray a character who audiences could not identify with and did not look to previous Joker actors for inspiration; instead, he read a book about political assassinations so he could understand killers and motivations.
In a behind-the-scenes video, Phillips explained that Arthur's normal face is the real mask, and the Joker is the true personality. He also said, in LA Times interview, that the genuine laugh of Arthur is only in the last scene. Director Todd Phillips said that he intentionally left it ambiguous as to whether Arthur becomes the Joker of traditional Batman stories or inspires a separate character, although Phoenix believes that Arthur is the former.
Some lines were reference of previous Jokers in other media and comedians. Arthur's line "I had a bad day" is from Batman: The Killing Joke: "All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy." Some words related on Arthur -"Freak", "Smile put on your happy face"- were originally lines of Joker in The Dark Knight, played by Heath Ledger. Arthur took a standup show with this phrase "When I was a little boy and told people I was gonna be a comedian, everyone laughed at me. Well, no-one's laughing now!", which was a parody of the comedian Bob Monkhouse' old gag.
Thomas Wayne in this film, unlike in the comics, plays a role in the Joker's origins. He was less sympathetic and more paternalistic than traditional incarnations. Phillips set Thomas as a person having "an illegitimate child that didn’t get anything from the Wayne family" to make a realistic reason for why the Joker hates Batman. Nevertheless, the relationship between Thomas and Arthur was unclear in this film; although Brett Cullen believed it's real.
Some characters were named after other Batman media as Easter eggs. Debra Kane, the first social worker counseling Arthur, is a reference to a character in Batman: The Ultimate Evil and Bob Kane, the cocreator of the Batman series. The Gotham City police Burke's name was also found in Detective Comics NO.748, as "Detective Thomas Burke".
Make-up and costumes[]
Nicki Ledermann and Kay Georgiou, the makeup designer and hairstylist tried to show Arthur Fleck to "be handmade and realistic". Georgiou designated Arthur as a man with not washed hair. The costumes of Arthur, designed by Mark Bridges, were matched to look "aged, overdyed and distressed" through wearing him with cheap polyester pants and acrylic sweater. His color palette was set in '80s; blue, maroon, brown, mauve and gray. In Deadline Hollywood interview, Bridges explained Arthur's costume color started to juvenile mode, going darker with tone of story. In first scene, Arthur "too small" hooded jacket and white socks emphasizing childish concept. It was reflection that he lived with his mother Penny, calling him "my little boy", and that influenced by Charlie Chaplin. However, he wore a charcoal sweater in interview with social worker, finally was in "scab-colored knit top" in Arkham State Hospital. A line depicting his old suit for many years was interpreted a mustard-toned vest and a patterned bottle-green shirt. Meanwhile, Arthur in doctor costume is the homage of Joker in The Dark Knight, wearing nurse uniform to meet Harvey Dent in Gotham Hospital.
After turning Arthur into Joker, his design was also changed. His hair was dyed "broccoli" green, and he wore a suit similar to the one in the original Batman series. However, Joker suit in this film had different colors with previous things (purple suit with a green or yellow shirt). Mark Bridge noted that it was result of Phillips' intention to do not want to "connected to anything else". Initially, color of suit in script was set to Terracotta, but Bridge changed to red to give "more expressive" emotion. Additionally, his suit colors (green, yellow, purple, and red) were compared with those of his antagonists, including Thomas Wayne, as giving them to gray and blue like Batman. Clown makeup was draw antiquely and not lightly, to convey menacing image. Due to the copyright law that does not allow to two same clowns, Ledermann tried to seek classical clown design.
Music[]
- Main article: Joker (soundtrack)
In August 2018, Hildur Guðnadóttir was hired to compose the film's score. Hildur began writing music after reading the script and meeting with Phillips, who "had a lot of strong ideas" about how he thought the score should sound. She worked on the Joker score alongside the score for the drama miniseries Chernobyl; Hildur said switching between the two was challenging because the scores were so different. Additionally, the film features the songs "That's Life", "Send In the Clowns", "White Room" and "Rock and Roll Part 2". The use of "Rock and Roll Part 2" generated controversy when it was reported that its singer, convicted sex offender Gary Glitter, would receive royalties, but it was later confirmed he would not. The score was released on October 2, 2019, by WaterTower Music. Hildur's music won numerous awards including an Academy Award, a Satellite Award, a Saturn Award, the Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA) and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, with the latter making her the first woman to win as a solo composer in that category.
Marketing and release[]
Promotion[]
Phillips promoted the film by posting on set photos on his Instagram account. On September 21, 2018, he released test footage of Phoenix in-costume as the Joker, with "Laughing" by The Guess Who accompanying the footage. At CinemaCon on April 2, 2019, Phillips unveiled the first trailer for the film, which was released online the following day. The trailer, prominently featuring the song "Smile" performed by Jimmy Durante, generated positive responses, with some commentators comparing it to Taxi Driver and Requiem for a Dream and praising Phoenix's performance. Writers described the trailer as dark and gritty, with ComicBook.com's Jenna Anderson feeling it appeared more like a psychological thriller than a comic book film. Actor Mark Hamill, who has voiced the Joker since the 1992 cartoon Batman: The Animated Series, expressed enthusiasm on Twitter. Conversely, io9's Germain Lussier said the trailer revealed too little and that it was too similar to photos Phillips had posted on Instagram. While he still believed it exhibited potential, Lussier overall thought the trailer was not "a home run." The trailer received over eight million views in the first few hours of release.
On August 25, 2019, Phillips released six brief teasers that contained flashes of writing, revealing the second trailer would be released on August 28. Filmmaker Kevin Smith commended the trailer, stating he thought the film "would still work even if [DC Comics] didn't exist" and praising its uniqueness. Overall, Deadline Hollywood estimated that Warner Bros. spent $120 million on promotion and advertisements.
After release in theaters, Warner Bros. used negative critics on this film for promotion.
Theatrical[]
Joker premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2019, where it received an eight-minute standing ovation and won the Golden Lion award. It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2019. The film was released theatrically by Warner Bros. Pictures on October 4, 2019, in the United States, and a day earlier in Australia and several other international markets. On November 16, 2019, it was screened at the White House for President Donald Trump, who reportedly enjoyed the film. Some theaters released this films at 70mm-shoot version, by original intention of director. Following its nominations at various awards shows, the film was scheduled to be rereleased in theaters across North America, beginning on January 17, 2020.
Security concerns[]
On September 18, 2019, the United States Army distributed an email warning service members of potential violence at theaters screening the film and noting the Joker character's popularity among the incel community. A separate memo revealed the Army received "credible" information from Texas law enforcement "regarding the targeting of an unknown movie theater during the release." However, according to Deadline Hollywood, the FBI and the United States Department of Homeland Security found no credible threats surrounding the release of the film.
In an interview with TheWrap, Phillips expressed surprise at criticism of the film's dark tone, stating "it's because outrage is a commodity" and calling critics of the film "far-left". Phoenix walked out of an interview by The Telegraph when asked if the film could inspire mass shooters. He later returned to finish the interview, but did not answer the question. Following this, journalists were disinvited from the premiere at TCL Chinese Theatre, with only photographers being allowed to interact with the filmmakers and cast on the carpet. In a statement to Variety, Warner Bros. said that "A lot has been said about Joker, and we just feel it's time for people to see the film."
The film did not play at the Aurora, Colorado, movie theater where the 2012 mass shooting occurred during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises. Three families of victims, as well as the mother of a witness, signed a letter to Warner Bros. with the request. Additionally, Landmark Theaters prohibited moviegoers from wearing Joker costumes during its run, while the Los Angeles and New York City Police Departments increased police visibility at area theaters, though they did not receive "any specific threat."
Home media[]
- Main article: Joker (video)
Joker was released on Digital HD on December 17, 2019, and on DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray on January 7, 2020. It debuted on HBO on May 16, 2020, and on HBO Max when it launched on May 27, 2020.
Themes and analysis[]
Joker deals with the themes of mental illness and its effects. Its depiction of the Joker has been described as reminiscent of those who commit mass shootings in the United States as well as members of the online incel community. Vejvoda, Hammond, and The Guardian's Christina Newland interpreted the film as a cautionary tale—society's disregard of those who are less fortunate will create a person like the Joker. Stephen Kent, writing for the Washington Examiner, described Arthur Fleck as blending shared aspects of mass shooters, and interpreted its message as a reminder that society is riddled with men like the Joker. Writing in People's World, Chauncey K. Robinson said the film "walks a fine line between exploration and validation" of Joker's character, and is "ultimately an in-your-face examination of a broken system that creates its own monsters."
Some writers have expressed concern that Joker's sympathetic portrayal of a homicidal maniac could inspire real-world violence. Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair found the film was too sympathetic towards "white men who commit heinous crimes" and that the sociopolitical ideologies represented in the film are "evils that are far more easily identifiable" to people "who shoot up schools and concerts and churches, who gun down the women and men they covet and envy, who let loose some spirit of anarchic animus upon the world—there's almost a woebegone mythos placed on them in the search for answers." Jim Geraghty of National Review wrote he was "worried that a certain segment of America's angry, paranoid, emotionally unstable young men will watch Joaquin Phoenix descending into madness and a desire to get back at society by hurting as many people as possible and exclaim, 'finally, somebody understands me!'" Contrarily, Michael Shindler, reviewing the film in Mere Orthodoxy, while agreeing that Joker depicts a sympathetic wish fulfillment fantasy, contends (drawing on insights from Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan) that it is for precisely that reason that the film will, if anything, preemptively quell real-world violence by rendering "the Flecks of the world into meek somnambulists."
British neurocriminologist Adrian Raine was impressed by how accurate the film's depiction of the psychology of a murderer was. In an interview with Vanity Fair, he described it as "a great educational tool" and stated that he planned to present film clips during his classes. Psychiatrist Kamran Ahmed highlighted the factors in Arthur's childhood such as parental abuse and loss, and family history of mental illness in the genesis of his condition. American psychiatrist Imani Walker, who is known for her Bravo television series Married to Medicine Los Angeles and working with violent criminals with mental disorders, analyzed the Joker's apparent mental disorders and circumstances, and noted that Arthur tries to find help before his downfall, only to be abandoned. She says of Arthur and others in poverty who have mental illness: "We as a society don't even pretend that they're real people. And that's what this movie is about. He never had a chance."
Micah Uetricht, managing director of Jacobin, opined in a review published by The Guardian that he was shocked that the media did not understand the movie's message: "we got a fairly straightforward condemnation of American austerity: how it leaves the vulnerable to suffer without the resources they need, and the horrific consequences for the rest of society that can result"; Uetricht thus declares that Joker presents a world that has devolved into "barbarism". Uetricht states that these themes are unsubtle to the extent that it was surprising that most media outlets had not identified them. Ahmed also highlights the lack of funding for already-stretched mental health services worldwide being alluded to.
Cultural impact[]
During a Five Star Movement event in October 2019, Italian comedian and politician Beppe Grillo gave a speech wearing the Joker's makeup. Yusuke Kawai, the governor of Chiba Prefecture, appeared on NHK with a Joker costume in 2021. References to the character were also found in anti-government protests worldwide. During the 2019–20 Lebanese protests, a group of graffiti artists called Ashekm painted a mural of the Joker holding a Molotov cocktail, and it was also reported that there was a Joker facepaint station at the protests in Beirut. In Los Ángeles, Chile, during the 2019–20 Chilean protests, the phrase "We are all clowns", which is adopted by Gotham City protesters in the movie, was written at the foot of a statue. In Hong Kong, protesters challenged an emergency decree prohibiting the wearing of masks by wearing those of fictional characters such as the Joker. In France, during the Yellow Vest Protests, firefighters donned Joker makeup holding placards. In 2020, during the George Floyd protests, Argentine president Alberto Fernández compared the pictures of the protests to those seen in the film.
One of the locations seen in the film, a set of stairs in the Bronx, New York City, has been dubbed the Joker Stairs. The stairs have become a tourist destination and the subject of internet memes, with visitors often reenacting the scene from the film in which Fleck dances down the stairs in his Joker attire.
Ukrainian boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk wore a suit resembling that of Joker in a pre-fight press conference leading up to his fight with Anthony Joshua.
Sequel[]
- Main article: Joker: Folie à Deux
Joker was intended to be a standalone film with no sequels, although Warner Bros. intended for it to launch DC Black, a line of DC Comics-based films unrelated to the DCEU with darker, more experimental material. While Phillips said in August 2019 that he would be interested in making a sequel, depending on the film's performance and if Phoenix is interested, he later clarified that "the movie's not set up to [have] a sequel. We always pitched it as one movie, and that's it." In October 2019, Phoenix spoke to Peter Travers of possibly reprising the role of Arthur, centering around Travers' asking of Phoenix if he considers Joker to be his "dream role." Phoenix stated, "I can't stop thinking about it ... if there's something else we can do with Joker that might be interesting," and concluded, "It's nothing that I really wanted to do prior to working on this movie. I don't know that there is [more to do] ... Because it seemed endless, the possibilities of where we can go with the character."
On November 20, 2019, The Hollywood Reporter reported that a sequel was in development, with Phillips, Silver, and Phoenix expected to reprise their duties; however, Deadline Hollywood reported the same day that The Hollywood Reporter's story was false and that negotiations had not even begun. Phillips responded to the reports by saying that he had discussed a sequel with Warner Bros. and it remained a possibility, but it was not in development. Phillips also confirmed that the then-upcoming film The Batman (2022) would not be set in the same continuity as Joker. During an interview with Variety at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Phillips expressed interest in a spin-off focusing on Batman, saying, "It's a beautiful Gotham. What I would like to see someone tackle is what Batman looks like from that Gotham. I'm not saying I'm going to do that. What was interesting to me about the inclusion of Batman in our movie was, 'What kind of Batman does that Gotham make?' That's all I meant by that." On May 5, 2021, The Hollywood Reporter reported that a Joker sequel was planned. On May 27, Phillips had reportedly signed on to write the script. In January 2022, Willem Dafoe expressed interest in appearing in the sequel.
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