(FILM FRIDAY!!) Joker and the burden of influences

I'm the wokler, baby! WHY SO QUEERIOUS? I got another one. Im unwellkler baby! WHY SO DELIRIOUS? Umm anyway, I'm not sure how to start these reviews really so excuse that horrible joke. It's actually fitting because we're talking about Joker (2019). I don't know Zack shit about DC and I don't really care to tbh. Maturing is realizing "holy shit, I hate superhero movies, I'll just read the comics" BUT I do know Martin Scorsese. 

Joker is famously inspired by Taxi Driver and King of Comedy. King of Comedy is one of my blindspots in the Scorsese catalog but Taxi Driver! I know that movie like the back of my hand. Its a classic. I believe it's like his first masterpiece! Alice doesn't live here anymore is good but Taxi Driver was better than anything he'd set out to accomplish before. It's often seen as THE character study. Naturally, like every other movie of the same nature takes inspiration from Taxi Driver but usually it's harder to spot than it was in this movie. BUT DONT WORRY! WE'LL GET TO THAT!

It's quite impossible for me to enjoy this movie so I may come off as a cynic and i apologize in advance. My opinions on this are... very strong and I'm coming home from a very very shit day. I ended up giving a rather sizeable chunk of my money to a homeless person and I sense a very unfavorable immediate future for myself. But talking about movies makes me feel better. They say meditation can be something you just put a lot of focus into for a portion of your day and this is my meditation. 

I think we should start with the positives because believe it or don't, there are things I like about this movie. First of all, the depiction of Arthur's condition isn't terrible. In film or TV, mental health is used to craft sympathy first and then offer an accurate depiction second and usually that means shying away from visible symptoms/symptoms that could potentially make someone uncomfortable (unless they wanna make a caricature out of it). I'm not sure if Arthur's condition is real. A quick Google search might yield some results. I shall be back shortly! It's real. However I don't think it matters whether or not it's real because it's supposed to be a representation of the symptoms that make people uncomfortable, that most directors would keep away from the screen and I like that Joker shows it.

I have one other positive and that's the famous scene. Not the one where he's like dancing on the stairs, I think that's some of the most shit progression ever.  But no, first of all let's talk about the acting. Joaqhin Phoenix does well in his role, really well! He's doing well with the cards he was dealt and of fucking course they got Robert De Niro to play Arthur's hero. So fucking obvious btw. Like a movie inspired Taxi Driver has the star of that movie in the film. But the famous scene has probably been spoiled a million times for everyone. "How about another joke, Murray?" I think that scene is great because its meta. It's the most original the movie has ever been up until this point. It's Joker renouncing his hero but it's also the director breaking the shackles of his influence and making his own movie. Too bad it's the third act and everything has already happened. 

Now for the negatives and oh boy! This movie has so many. I'll keep it brief (in the polonius sense of the word). Let's break it down tho. We can talk about the sloppy storytelling, the lack of originality and then wrap it up with one final critique. 

First of all. The story structure is very sloppy. Like Im surprised at how people claimed this film was transgressive or anything maybe for a superhero movie though between you and me, I can think of a few superhero movies that tell emotional stories 10 times better than Joker, maybe I'll cover them but I don't plan on doing rewatches. I just find that the general pacing and progression was like very eye-rolley. Like "really??" Cmon. Shit we all saw coming. Well maybe it's just me. For a lot of people this is an entry level film. I've seen my fair share and I'm sure a lot of you have also seen your fair share of films. Sooo you'd pick up on how unoriginal this movie is.

Now film making is just borrowing from other directors. Story telling as a whole is borrowing like, I'm sure you've heard there are no new stories BUT stories can be built upon. That's beautiful! I'm glad it is that way too because it makes analysis like this easy for me and you can see general patterns and movements if you look at the history of an art form. I don't think Joker builds tho. It rehashes. The Murray scene I mentioned was like the construction company coming with all their tools to come build on a site and then after that, it's like they left before doing anything. I genuinely believe if you've seen Taxi Driver. This movie is gonna be difficult to enjoy. I really tried to. 

These criticisms on their own would maybe only make it a 5/10 but I rated lower than that. Why? Because on top of all that. It pushes a harmful message with its lack of intent. Taxi Driver Driver good because it was intentional. That's what makes it a masterpiece. This movie just rehashed scenes to pay homage but without the proper intent, it loses what made that movie great and ends up being racist? 

I feel weird calling stuff racist. Like, what if I'm being crazy? As a poc, I need to let that go. Disco Elysium quote. (It goes something like "if something sounds like it makes no sense... that's because it doesn't") if I feel something is racist, it probably is. As someone who experiences it. A big part of Taxi Driver is that the main character is racist and it's a part of his character. America failed him, that's why he's like that. BUT in no way is that an excuse, the movie makes it clear that he's like that because the war broke him but that's not an excuse. I don't wanna get into it. We can save Taxi Driver for another time. My point is. He is responsible for the fact that he can't get better because he exposes himself to what he so vitriolically hates. Joker seems to get the part right about being wronged by society but misses the second part and a lot of the people who wrong him are black and he does the Taxi Driver thing where he points his gun at the black people. Haha cool homage... you know there was a reason why Travis did that in Taxi Driver. And the movie ends on a really high note almost like this was the only natural course. As if he had to do what he needed to do. Travis didn't have to do anything he made himself do that shit and neither did Joker BUT SOCIETY FORCED HIM TO!!!!1!! Particularly black people!

I hate that sentiment. It's telling the audience that there's no other way except to do that terrible shit. It feels like the film maker is rewarding his terrible deeds. Taxi Driver, you could make that argument if not for one small, minute moment. At the end, he gets the girl, he's seen as a hero, everything is just right, he gets an ending he doesn't deserve almost but then he turns the mirror away because he can't bear to see himself. Joker frames Arthur as the good guy for doing the shit he did! SOCIETY MADE HIM! SO ITS RIGHT OF HIM!! 

Anyway I'm done talking about this. Next week... ummm idk I've got a few things on my list for the week. Either another Japanese classic, a concert film, something sad or something complex. Idk. But my rating for this movie is.... drumroll please!!

3/10