Joker

Writer/Director Todd Phillips ("The Hangover") had a picture of Joaquin Phoenix on his computer while he wrote the script for this film, and he stated there was no "plan B" if he didn't take the role. Personally, I can't imagine another actor playing the role so naturally, albeit disturbing and awkward. "Joker" is a one-man show to be certain, and it is every bit worth the price of admission to experience his story.

"Joker" is an origin story, and has ties to the Batman universe, but it is more subtle and introspective and hopefully will stand alone as a cinematic gem instead of a gateway into another futile attempt by DC to replicate Marvel's universe. Gotham City is painted as a gritty 1970's New York City with garbage piling up, senseless subway crime, and a deafening cry for society to take notice of the madness that is human nature. It's a bleak environment to be surviving in, and we see mostly the have nots as opposed to the haves. Enter Arthur Fleck (Phoenix). He's a grown man living with his mother, working humiliating gigs as a clown to make ends meet. He lives in squalor, but doesn't seem to care, and he has fantasies about romantic relationships and is being ignored by his social worker. Society is slowly letting him down with every tragic turn of events. His dream is to be a stand-up comedian, and appear on the Murray Franklin show (played magnificently by Robert De Niro), which is an inflated caricature of the delusional nature of his imagination. He is ignored by the system, a poster boy of someone with nothing going for them. Yet, there is something tremendously endearing about him. He is a true victim of his circumstances. Desperate for a break, only wanting a fair shake, he doesn't seem to be malicious by nature, and that's what makes for a great villain. He doesn't fit the villain archetype at all, just a strange dude with a lot of issues. Over the course of the film though, he's literally and proverbially kicked while he's down, and what gets back up is a creature that society is responsible for creating, and now they must live with the consequences.

The thing that makes this film work brilliantly is that Arthur Fleck is a humorless man. He's depressed, disturbed, and by all outside perspectives, he's strange. He even has a medical condition where he awkwardly laughs at inappropriate times out of sheer nervousness, but he desperately is looking for joy and humor in his life. In fact, it's really all he is looking for. Ironically, he only finds joy and attention through malicious and senseless acts of extreme violence and it's only when he gets a taste that he realizes what real happiness is. The optics of this idea is disturbing to be sure, but captured in a two-hour film, it is emotional dynamite. Coupled with one of the greatest living actors (that's right, I said it), this is a rich serving of anti-hero exploration, and although the plot moves slowly, it is forgivable because of the sheer amount of magnetism that Phoenix brings to his role.

Phoenix delivers an acting opus as the centerpiece of this anti-hero character study. An iconic villain that is the envy of practically every actor alive, and after 2008's "Dark Knight" performance by Heath Ledger, one that has a very large pair of shoes to fill. Let's forget about Jared Leto's "Suicide Squad" for a minute as it was pure garbage and a completely wasted opportunity. Phoenix resists the temptation to overindulge in the character to a chilling effect. Viewing his performance takes you into the mean streets of 1970's New York, but spins it with what can only be described as authentic method acting. The current front-runner for Best Actor in my mind, it will take a tour de force to wrestle the statue away from him when the Oscars come around.

Where does DC go from here? Well, there is another incarnation of "Batman" in the works with Robert Pattinson as the caped crusader. Aside from that, I could see the exploration of more villains in stand-alone origin stories. I just hope they avoid the temptation to explore a sequel, and maintain the gritty and dark tone that makes Gotham so attractive in the first place. With recent successes of R-rated superhero films ("Deadpool," "Logan," "Venom"), it's clear that audiences are ready and eager to get more personal with some of our notorious villains.

Already on pace to break October records, "Joker" has hit pay dirt with audiences, critics, and couldn't have dropped at a more appropriate time. Whether life imitates art, or art imitates life, the people feel neglected and want attention from those in power. "Joker" absolutely commands attention. 9/10.