‘Joker’ is a depressing yet mesmerizing movie

The scariest villain in movies lately seems to be some Bozo in a clown outfit. Move over Pennywise (“It”), there’s a new clown in Chuckletown. Sure, Keith Ledger bedazzled us in “Dark Knight” with his Oscar-winning performance in 2008, but the “Joker” is the role Joaquin Phoenix was born to play. In his clowning glory, Phoenix will get the last laugh.

So, riddle me this, if the Joker is Batman’s nemesis, why is there no Caped Crusader in this picture? The studio says because director and co-writer Todd Phillips (“The Hangover” trilogy) aspired to make a distinctive origins feature of the iconic villain for a fraction of the cost of a superhero movie. What he made was so much more.

Although Phillips admits the story reflects modern times, he insists it was not intended to be political. Either way, some serious discussions are warranted. The basis is a comic book, but it is a gritty and exhausting character study about Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) marginalized and victimized by society. It may also serve as a broader cautionary tale.

The Joker is an evildoer who keeps the Batman in business. This conflicted account effectively explains why he is the way he is. The danger is that some may interpret the background story as an excuse for despicable behavior. Worse yet, some may feel the story justifies or may even incite violence.

This is a story of mental illness and how people are treated, mistreated or discounted in today’s society. The opening five-minute sequence provides such an illustration and then the compelling story builds. Robert De Niro co-stars in an ironic role reversal from his starring role in “The King of Comedy” (1982), where De Niro was the unstable standup comedian stalking his favorite late night talk show host (played by Jerry Lewis).

In this extremely dark feature, taking place in 1981, Fleck wishes to make people laugh, but the only one he consistently makes laugh is himself. Worse yet, the ones who do, are laughing at him, not with him. Arthur notes, “Why is it that society gets to determine what is right and what is wrong, what is funny and what is not funny?”

Arthur asks his psychiatrist, “Is it just me or is it getting crazier out there?” Of course, we all know the answer is yes, but the words of wisdom are coming from a crazy man. He adds, “The worst part of having a mental illness is people expect you to behave as if you don’t.” We have to admit, we never really looked at it that way.

There is an agonizing transformation from a struggling comic to a completely unhinged psychopath. Arthur explains, “For my whole life, I didn’t know if I even really existed. But I do, and people are starting to notice.” What is noticeable is that Phoenix delivers an Oscar-worthy performance by putting his entire career experience into this role.

In this killer performance, Phoenix lost 50 pounds, created a psychopathic laugh and studied various personality disorders to make the villain so complex, even psychiatrists would not be able to identify the specific disorder. We accept that Arthur was just plain nuts. It was also reported Phoenix would go so deep into the role, he would often walk off the set in the middle of scenes and had to be talked into returning. We applaud his affinity with the Joker’s inner demons, but suspect Phoenix might also be just plain nuts.

“Joker” is 121 minutes and rated R for strong bloody violence, disturbing behavior, language and brief sexual images. This role has been previously played by six actors, including Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger and Jared Leto, all Oscar winners. Phoenix has been nominated three times so stay tuned for the Academy to recognize his riveting performance.

This is one of the most depressing yet mesmerizing movies of all time. It is accompanied by a droning, yet absorbing musical score by Icelandic cellist Hildur Guonadottir. On the stage, Arthur states, “When I was a little boy and told people I was going to be a comedian, everyone laughed at me. Well, no one’s laughing now!” Yikes! Later, the maniac concludes, “Know who the joker is? It’s everybody.”

Ron’s Rating: A-
Leigh’s Rating: B