It’s time to finally talk about the 'Joker' and I’m writing about the movie only now, not because of the outstanding performance of actor Joaquin Phoenix (that’s been wining all of the 2020 awards btw and will probably take the BAFTA and the Oscars home) but because today is a special day for me.
Today, January 23, is my father‘s birthday - the man responsible for introducing me to this fabulous dark and twisted word of Batman, Gotham City and of course the eccentric character of Joker.
It was with my father that I watched for the first time ‘Batman’ by Tim Burton and with one of the greatest actors of all time, Jack Nicholson as the joker. It was also the first time I watched an "grown up" movie and it changed my life forever. Maybe that’s why Batman is my favorite superhero and maybe that’s why I love Noir aesthetics so much. And it’s definitely why ‘Joker’ is so important to me and deserves a review here on the blog.
What I like the most about the movie is that we can see how everything started, like.. did you ever had a curiosity of knowing what Gotham city used to look like before Batman? How the city became this chaotic version that we know so well?
'Joker’ is an origin movie, it shows us not only how Arthur Fleck became the joker but also how crime exploded and madness settled in the city of Gotham.. and for me, Todd Phillips' direction made it look like poetry!
The way he dances..
Joaquin Phoenix's transformational performance is so real you can almost "touch" the pain he's going through and you can almost feel the mental damage caused by the society that surrounds him.
His skinny body gives us an idea of such fragility that we feel sorry for him and we want to help him. There is a role reversal in the story, now Joker is the defenseless young man marginalized by society and Thomas Wayne is the bad rich and corrupt villain.
About the locations and set designs - which I was able to recognize, from the experiences I had in New York (below) - they created the "typical" big city: the imposing architecture of the NYC's Financial District contrasts perfectly with Uptown' housing developments, all connected by the famous train and subway lines.
Iconic spots helped create a Gotham on the brink of socio-economic collapse. And all this in a colorful artistic photograph with colors so strong as the personality of the citizens of this crazy city.
Soundtrack and sound effects wrap it all and lead us, the audience, to a immersive trip into the world and the sensible sick mind of our dearest Arthur Fleck making us feel a shiver when we hear his laugh.
Robert de Niro is also brilliant as talk show host Murray Franklin and that's it.
For me, a cult / art film that will stay in my memory forever as well as 'Batman' from 1989.
real big city problems: New York and the garbage on the streets
Photo of me by Leah Yanachek, from the Wall Street post here..
In front of the 20 Hanover Square building
Photo of me by Leah Yanachek, from the Wall Street post too.. I chose this place for the photoshoot exactly because a lot of the 'Gotham' series scenes were filmed there!
You might as well recognize the Chambers St Station from other iconic movie scenes like 'The Devil's Advocate' with Al Pacino and 'Harry Potter'
Photos from my NYC travel diaries
Love the architecture.. and before I go, shall we dance?
A great Friday & weekend for you..
Stay tuned for more movie reviews and the complete Awards Season's coverture!
xx
Comments