The Joker: Worth the Watch?

Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in The Joker takes the big screen by storm. This debut of this movie on October 4, 2019, has not been able to leave people’s mouths in the time that it’s been known to the public. The most popular comment circulating around how nothing could be compared to Heath Ledger’s committed and convincing performance in The Dark Knight. Dying shortly after the completion of filming The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger still won a plethora of awards for the movie; such as the Academy Award for best supporting role, and the MTV best villain award. Todd Phillips, the director of The Joker, has won the Golden Lion Award, which is the highest prize available at the Venice Film Festival, leaving people sure about the success of the movie.

The Joker is about a man who was an outcast in society. He would get picked on, beaten up, and threatened on a daily basis. Having suffered a brain injury, Arthur Fleck would be susceptible to inappropriately timed laughing fits, which seemed only to harm his case. Fleck works as a clown to support his mother, who he lives with, in a sad, rundown apartment. Arthur Fleck is also an aspiring comedian. His awkwardness, and general unfunny demeanor prevents him from becoming the comedy star he dreams of being, leaving him filled with dread and false hope. The movie is about the Joker’s descent into madness, and how he became one of the most infamous villains to have ever existed. 

Having seen the movie, I would one hundred percent recommend it. The movie took the viewer on a journey of how the Joker really became the Joker. The in-depth storyline really makes the viewer think about how they’ve treated people in the past, and how individual actions really can change other people. Mishelle Goykhberg, a Junior at Leonia High School, said “the movie is about how society makes their own monsters, but still does not learn from their mistakes”, which we both believe to be the exact message that the movie was trying to get across.