![]() Stricken with a condition that forces laughter, particularly in situations where it wouldn’t be the most appropriate emotion, Arthur Fleck seems doomed from the outset: a heavily medicated street clown whose timid, trusting disposition marks him as the easy target for the bullies of a rat-infested Gotham. Joker presented a darkly realistic Gotham City, inspired by the crime-ridden New York City of the ’70s and ’80s, with Arthur’s transformative killing of three harassers on the subway intentionally mirroring the infamous 1984 incident when Bernhard Goetz shot four men that he explained were attempting to rob him, though the men that Arthur guns down in Joker were not muggers but successful, slicked-back young “suits” who turned their ire onto him after pestering a young woman who left the train. These heavy themes, the re-interpretation of such an established character, and the sociopolitical commentary presented during an already-charged political atmosphere ensured that Joker would be met with some degree of controversy. The movie was intended as a standalone, not one of the franchise’s many reboots nor the beginning of a Joker-focused series, giving screenwriters Todd Phillips (who also directed) and Scott Silver the freedom to generally diverge from the established comics-aside from some inspiration found in the 1988 novel Batman: The Killing Joke-to develop their own character study, focused around childhood trauma and mental illness. Though the Joker is best-known as Batman’s archenemy, the caped crusader solely appears in the form of a young Bruce Wayne, first meeting Arthur on his family’s estate before forced to witness his parents’ murder during the riots inspired by Arthur’s acts of violence. Many loved it and many hated it, but there’s little doubting Phoenix’s effectiveness intensity chronicling the troubled Arthur Fleck’s transformation from a desperate wannabe stand-up comedian who feels let down by society into a chaotic killer who unintentionally inspires anarchic revolution and class warfare. Joaquin Phoenix received the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the eponymous role in Joker, a reimagined origin story that pays significant homage to Martin Scorsese’s character studies like Taxi Driver (1976) and The King of Comedy (1983)-both starring Robert De Niro, who would appear in Joker-as well as twists of social commentary and themes from Death Wish (1973) and Fight Club (1999). ![]() Since then, we’ve seen a handful of actors cycle through the iconic role, beginning with Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (2008), a few appearances by Ben Affleck and Jared Leto, and most recently a smaller part performed by Barry Keoghan in The Batman (2022). When I was growing up, the only two actors who had prominently portrayed Gotham City’s psychopathic prankster were Cesar Romero in the classic ’60s series and Jack Nicholson, who received top billing despite not playing the title role in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman. ![]() ![]() Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, aka “Joker”, disturbed and disgraced ex-party clownĬostume Designer: Mark Bridges BackgroundĬould there be a more appropriate character to focus on for April Fool’s Day than the Joker? Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in Joker (2019) Vitals ![]()
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