‘Put on a happy face’ – film of the week

Put on a happy face’ writes Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker on a dirty bathroom mirror in the 2019 blockbuster of the same name. As the film strides through its just-over-two-hour runtime it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain the happy-go-lucky face which we’re invited to wear at the start… but not for the reasons you might think.

This film acts as an origin story for the villain of numerous Batman films, the Joker. Here, the character is given a name for the first time; Arthur Fleck.

Forever alone in a crowd, the failed comedian seeks connection as he walks the streets of Gotham City. Arthur wears two masks – the one he paints for his day job as a clown, and the guise he projects in a futile attempt to feel like he’s part of the world around him. Isolated, bullied and disregarded by society, Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind he has become famous for.

From the first moments of the film, where we see our protagonist stretching his mouth into a depressing smile, with his face clad in fading paint, as the background radio

details the rise rates in crimes in the city, it becomes evident that we’re not only about to watch everything that once seemed scary about this film… we’re going to enjoy it.

Todd Philips, who directed the Hangover trilogy, somewhat surprisingly, wrote the script. Sometimes in superhero films, which Joker technically is, the writing can be a bit all over the place, not really leading the story anywhere, instead relying on intense and dramatic graphics to do this.

Joker, however, is totally reliant on the writing to move the story along. Philips takes the challenge in his stride, producing some of the most powerful and meaningful lines of the 21st century. The sequences of dialogue were and are exceptional, constantly and yes, consistently having the audience second guessing at every turn-around; a narrative that any writer would envy. Joaquin Phoenix stars as the titular character of Joker, and what a performance it was. Playing the character has long-since been seen as a challenge of sorts for actors, and with Jared Leto’s Joker receiving bad reviews from just about everyone but himself, it could even be classed as quite a risk to take on such a role.

Phoenix, however, takes the character to a whole new level; playing the character in a way that we’ve never seen him before; sadistic and depressive, yet somehow likeable; many have tried to do this, most have failed, but Phoenix not only succeeded, he exceeded all expectations.

Overall, Joker is an incredibly unique film, and a must-watch for those who are fans of the Batman franchise.

l Joker is streaming now on Now TV.

By Jack Baxter