MITCHELL LIERMAN
liermanm2@lopers.unk.edu

Released in the midst of mental health awareness week, “Joker” opened a window into the world of the mentally ill that hasn’t been explored so thoroughly and disturbingly by a mass market film in a very long time. Taking full advantage of its R-rating, this film uses its few instances of gore to capitalize on the unceasing tension and raise the stakes even further.

What was packaged as the next entry in the DC cinematic canon delivered instead a psychological thriller that is impossible to look away from as the protagonist, Arthur Fleck, spirals out of control as his support system collapses. Fleck, a mentally ill former asylum resident, faces the world at its worst in the ever grim Gotham City where he works as a clown. 

The film makes a heavy comment on the way we as a society think about and deal with the mentally ill, playing out a first person perspective of a person who loses everything he never thought he could. Fleck is immersed in a world of squalor that is ruthless and unrelenting: his coworkers are slimy, his ailing mother is unable to support him, and the rich do as they please without a care in the world as the city falls to ruin. It seems that every character in the film is fundamentally flawed in some way. From the shaking and personal face shots to the sweeping pans of the world, the cinematography matches the intense score and pulls viewers deeper into this world.

This creates a lot of empathy for poor Arthur Fleck, who navigates this world trying to do nothing but make people smile. His dreams to be a stand-up comedian foreshadow his descent into insanity, but they also provide an important theme: despite his illness, Arthur only wants to spread spread joy. This sentiment is the glue that keeps viewers firmly rooted in Arthur’s shoes as he breaks down further and begins his spree of killings that ultimately culminate into him becoming Joker, an outcome that, despite its inevitability within the context of the film’s narrative, seemed like it could have been avoided if only there was some other light to guide him.

This film is disturbing, moving, and critical. Every element comes together to form the perfect storm, a slow burn that plays out a black mirror of our own society. It earns every single hit it scores and leaves nothing unused, unbroken, or unspent. “Joker” is, without a doubt, one of the most engrossing movies of the year, and it lands a firm spot as an instant classic.