Joker (2019) A review by Shlomoh Sherman October 6, 2019 Read about Joker On the Internet Movie Data Base

Joker (2019) Director: Todd Phillips Writers: Todd Phillips, Scott Silver Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz | See full cast & crew Plot Summary: In Gotham City, mentally-troubled comedian Arthur Fleck is disregarded and mistreated by society. He then embarks on a downward spiral of revolution and bloody crime. This path brings him face-to-face with his alter-ego: "The Joker". Storyline: Joker centers around an origin of the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone story not seen before on the big screen. Todd Phillips' exploration of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a man disregarded by society, is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale. Written by Warner Bros. Plot Keywords: mental illness - evil clown - the joker character - stand up comedian - based on comic Taglines: Put on a happy face. Genres: Crime - Drama - Thriller Motion Picture Rating (MPAA) Rated R for strong bloody violence, disturbing behavior, language and brief sexual images Parents Guide: See below Country: USA - Canada Language: English Release Date: October 4, 2019 (USA) Filming Locations: Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA Box Office: Budget:$55,000,000 (estimated) Opening Weekend USA: $96,202,337, October 6, 2019 Gross USA: $304,291,507 Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $949,691,507 Company Credits: Production Co: BRON Studios, Creative Wealth Media Finance, DC Comics Technical Specs: Runtime: 122 min Sound Mix: SDDS - Dolby Atmos - Datasat - Dolby Digital Color: Color

Review: Last night, Judy and I went to see THE JOKER. We went to an early show to avoid any crazy crowds. Not a film that Judy would ordinarily see but she has good will and knew I wanted to see it. That said, here is my initial response. I have seen several actors portray the Joker, bringing their own interpretation of Gotham's worst villain. Among them, Caesar Romero in the old Batman TV Series, Cameron Monaghan in the TV Series GOTHAM, Jack Nicholson in the original Batman movie back in the early 90s, and the incomparable late Heath Ledger. They were all wonderful but Joaquin Phoenix brings a new dimension to the character. In the new JOKER, the Joker is not the villain. Gotham City itself and many of its leaders are the villains. Much as in the 2014 version of Godzilla, the beast is the hero, here the Joker is, if not the hero, then at least the antihero. "Arthur Fleck is just a gentle guy who likes to make people smile", says the review at CNET.COM. Why not? He is studying to be a standup comic. Arthur has been considered "weird" by many people because he evidences symptoms of many psychological syndromes, among them Tourette's. Because of this, he has been abused by many people, both as a child and as an adult. Twice attacked and beaten by teenagers and adult bullies, Arthur just wants to retain his dignity. He is ridiculed by TV host, Murray Franklin, when he asks to do a comedy routine on his show; he is spoken to disrespectfully by Gotham's candidate for Mayor, Thomas Wayne, Bruce's father, and chased by the police for mindlessly carrying a gun into a child cancer ward where he is performing for the children. If you are like me, you just can't help feeling sorry for him, and when he finally goes off the deep end and starts killing people, you feel he only killed "those who deserve it." It's not only Arthur who becomes "mad" in both senses. The dispossessed of Gotham cheer him on and in the midst of a riot, they join him in  committing spontaneous murders. Who can blame them? They just say to their victims, "You are getting what you deserve". I truly felt like Robert DeNiro in the remake of CAPE FEAR, laughing out loud at Arthur's antics whenever he engages in self-deprecating humor or when he makes fun of his tormentors. No one else in the audience was laughing. I asked Judy why she wasn't laughing. She said there was nothing to laugh at. It's the life of a tragic person. I say, THIS Joker movie is Shakespearian. Joaquin Phoenix gives an outstanding performance. He is mesmerizing. Police officers were in attendance at the theater we went to. A sign declared, "No masks or costumes allowed." A superb cast includes Robert De Niro, Frances Conroy, Glenn Fleshler, and Brett Cullen as Thomas Wayne, Douglas Hodge as Alfred, and Dante Pereira-Olson as Bruce Wayne. As usual, I append to my own review, that of one review found at IMDB. Here is an excerpt from the September 1, 2019 review by Chandler_Bing. Must have put a SMILE of Satisfaction on Heath Ledger's Face up in Heaven! Truly a masterpiece, The Best film of 2019, one of the Best films of the decade ... And TRULY the Best film to bring a comic book so chillingly and realistically to real ife. Remarkable Direction, Cinematography, Music and the Acting. I don't understand why critics are surprised to find it DISTURBING and VIOLENT, when the title character is infamous for it and fans were already rooting for this. OSCARS are on their way! KUDOS to Joaquin Phoenix - He is, I believe, the first Jewish actor to play the Joker. KUDOS to Robert De Niro as Murray Franklin, the host of the TV show which arthur appears on KUDOS to Frances Conroy as Arthur's mother; she is best remembered for the mother on the HBO TV series, Six FEET UNDER.

Trivia: Joaquin Phoenix had been interested in a low-budget "character study" of a comic book character, and said the film "feels unique, it is its own world in some ways, and maybe [...] It might as well be the thing that scares you the most. Joaquin Phoenix said he did not refer to earlier interpretations of the joker in developing his role. He wanted to create something of his own. He explained his decision at the Venice Film Festival press conference: "It was just something that felt like our creation, and that was really important to me. Joaquin Phoenix called perfecting the Joker's laugh the toughest part of playing the character. Joaquin Phoenix based his laugh on "videos of people suffering from pathological laughter." He also sought to portray a character with which audiences could not identify. Todd Phillips described Joaquin Phoenix's take on Arthur as, "a guy who is searching for identity who mistakenly becomes a symbol. His goal genuinely is to make people laugh and bring joy to the world." Joaquin Phoenix said about the 24 kg weight loss: "Once you reach the target weight, everything changes. Like so much of what's difficult is waking up every day and being obsessed over like 0.3 pounds. Right? And you really develop like a disorder. I mean, it's wild. But I think the interesting thing for me is what I had expected and anticipated with the weight loss was these feelings of dissatisfaction, hunger, a certain kind of vulnerability and a weakness. But what I didn't anticipate was this feeling of kind of fluidity that I felt physically. I felt like I could move my body in ways that I hadn't been able to before. And I think that really lent itself to some of the physical movement that started to emerge as an important part of the character." The joke "When I was a little boy and told people I was going to be comedian, everyone laughed at me. Well no one's laughing now" is inspired by the late British comedian Bob Monkhouse's "People used to laugh at me when I said I wanted to be a comedian. Well they're not laughing now." The movie is meant to start a new company that will produce standalone DC movies. Todd Phillips and Scott Silver found the most common Joker origin story, in which the character is disfigured after falling into a vat of chemicals, too unrealistic. Instead, they used certain elements of the Joker lore to produce an original story, which Phillips wanted to feel as authentic as possible. Because the Joker does not have a definitive origin story in the comics, Phillips and Silver were given considerable creative freedom and "pushed each other every day to come up with something totally insane." The two wrote the script with Phoenix in mind: "The goal was never to introduce Joaquin Phoenix into the comic book movie universe. The goal was to introduce comic book movies into the Phoenix universe." Joaquin Phoenix was good friends with the late Heath Ledger who won an Oscar for his portrayal as The Joker in The Dark Knight (2008). Joaquin Phoenix talked about how his conception of Joker changed during production and what interested him in the character. "Throughout the course of shooting it felt like every day we were discovering new parts of his personality, up until the very last day," said Phoenix. "It was his struggle to find happiness and to feel connected and to feel warmth and love and that's the part of the character I was interested in. He was so many different things to me. Who he was in the first few weeks of shooting was completely different than who he was in the end. He was constantly evolving. I've never had an experience like this. The more unpredictable and looser we left it, the more exciting it was." Zazie Beetz was asked by Variety at TIFF about whether or not the movie sympathizes with Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck, a struggling stand-up comedian and clown for hire whose psychological unraveling leads him to become the notorious Batman villain. Beetz doesn't deny that "Joker" has a sympathetic viewpoint, but she argued that it's less towards Arthur/Joker and more towards Arthur's predicament on a broader scale. "It's kind of an empathy toward isolation," Beetz said, "and an empathy towards what is our duty as a society to address people who slip through the cracks in a way. There is a lot of culture of that right now. So is it empathy for that or just an observation on personalities who struggle?" The filmmakers cite Alan Moore's comic "The Killing Joke", which tells the Joker's origin and descent into insanity, and the Martin Scorsese films Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980) and The King of Comedy (1982) as an influence on the film. Joaquin Phoenix lost a lot of weight for his role as the Joker. It was so serious that filming could only be done once, with no opportunity for reshoots. Todd Phillips had to write the script during production. The premiere of the film at the Venice Film Festival drew an eight-minute standing ovation. The address of the Joker's stairs is 1165 Shakespeare Ave, The Bronx, NY 10452, USA. After the theatrical release of the movie, the stairs turned into a tourist attraction. In a deliberate attempt to keep the budget down there are almost no CGI effects shots in this film. One of the very few is the scene where Arthur Fleck walks towards the building named Arkham Asylum in his attempt to look at his mothers medical records. This scene was CGI enhanced but otherwise most of this films effects were either practical or created in camera. Robert De Niro said his role in Joker pays homage to his character from The King of Comedy (1982), Rupert Pupkin, who is a comedian obsessed with a talk-show host. Director Todd Phillips had to convince the movie studio to keep the R rating for the movie when they became concerned about some of the footage they saw as being too violent. Viggo Mortensen turned down the role as Thomas Wayne. It has been speculated that Joker was inspired by John Wayne Gacy or Pogo the clown. In the movie joker, Arthur does stand up at a comedy club/ bar called "Pogo's". Director Todd Phillips actually had John Wayne Gacy do the artwork for the promotional posters of his GG Allin documentary and thanked him the credits of it. Although not directly stated, the film is set in the early to mid 1980s. Several things give this away e.g. black and white television sets were still common and every television seen whether color or B&W is CRT not flat screen. Arthur uses a VCR (prohibitively expensive until the early 1980s). Vehicles used throughout the movie are common for the era. The parallels between Gotham and the crime problems in new York around that era (including the NY subway vigilante shootings by Bernhard Goetz in 1984). The use of payphones. Murray's attire. Brian De Palma's Blow Out showing in a cinema. Bruce Wayne's apparent age and the use of the Warner Brothers logo of the era at the beginning of the film. Pseudobulbar affect is a condition that is characterized by an involuntary and uncontrollable reaction of laughter or crying that's disproportionate to an event. Murray Franklin and his show appear to be an amalgam, of Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin, along with the talk shows they hosted.. The surname Franklin was likely an homage to Joe Franklin, who hosted a legendary self titled local late night talk show which aired for several years in New York City. Since the film's release, the character of Arthur Fleck/Joker became a symbol of protest in countries such as Lebanon, Chile, Iraq, and China for government corruption protests. Joaquin Phoenix is the seventh actor to portray Joker on the silver screen. He follows Cesar Romero (Batman: The Movie (1966)), Jack Nicholson (Batman (1989)), Mark Hamill (Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)), Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight (2008)), Jared Leto (Suicide Squad (2016)), and Zach Galifianakis (The Lego Batman Movie (2017)). At 5'10" ft (177 cm), Joaquin Phoenix is the second shortest actor to portray the Joker, next only to Jared Leto at 5'8" ft (173 cm). The film was released 30 years after Batman (1989) the first major theatrical film based on Batman-related properties. Both films prominently feature the Joker. In most of Batman canon, Batman's parents are killed by an average mugger named "Joe Chill". However, in Batman (1989), Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered by a man named Jack Napier who would later become the Joker. In Joker 2019, an unidentified man dressed in a Joker mask murders the Waynes during a riot, making it the second film to imply the Joker is linked to the Waynes' deaths, and thus the creation of Batman. Arthur Fleck/Joker is in almost every scene in the film except for one particular scene which is the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne. This film showcase Thomas Wayne as a cold-hearted man who's possibly an adulterer. Depending on the possibilities and interpretations, it's implied that Wayne had an affair with Penny Fleck decades ago. In the 2018 DC Black Label three-issue comic series, "Batman: Damned", Thomas Wayne was also portrayed as cold-hearted and an adulterer. During a flashback in the first issue, young Bruce sees his father with another woman that's not his mother, and it appears as if Wayne brought his son along with him on his tryst with his mistress, not caring how it'll affect the boy. The movie has taken strong inspirations from films like Taxi Driver (1976) and The King of Comedy (1982). However, it also shares some similarities with Carrie (1976). Arthur Fleck and Carrie White are both tragic characters that were driven to madness by awful familial histories and a toxic society. For example: Both characters endured a lifetime of abuse and trauma that resulted in their mental illnesses and social awkwardness. Both have overbearing, unreliable, and manipulative mothers; both are eventually driven to kill their mothers. Both are often mocked and bullied by other people; at the end of the movies both are invited to special events only to be publicly humiliated. Both eventually snap and unleash violence on the public due to being publicly humiliated and the build-up of a lifetime of hurt. Both ultimately left a devastating impact for better or worse.

Soundtracks: Joins Girl In Bedding Dept. Cue from Modern Times (1936) Written by Charles Chaplin Orchestral Arrangement Courtesy of Bourne Co. Performed by Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks (as North German Radio Symphony Orchestra) Conducted by Timothy Brock Courtesy of CPO and Naxos By arrangement with Source/Q Temptation Rag Written by Henry Lodge Performed by Claude Bolling Courtesy of Decca Records France Under license from Universal Music Enterprises Here Comes The King Written by Steve Karmen Courtesy of Budweiser Murray's Theme Written by Judson Crane and Mark S. Hollingsworth (as Mark Hollingsworth) Performed by Ellis Drane and his Jazz Orchestra (uncredited) Produced by Stewart Lerman Rooftop Written and Performed by Hildur Guðnadóttir and Jóhann Jóhannsson Courtesy of Milan Records By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment Everybody Plays The Fool Written by Ralph Bailey, Rudy Clark and Ken Williams (as Kenneth Williams) Performed by The Main Ingredient Courtesy of RCA Records By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment The Moon Is A Silver Dollar Written by Sammy Fain and Mitchell Parish Performed by Lawrence Welk and His Orchestra Courtesy of Prestige Elite Records Ltd. Slap That Bass from Shall We Dance (1937) Written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin Performed by Fred Astaire and The RKO Radio Studio Chorus & Orchestra Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Turner Entertainment Co. If You're Happy And You Know It Written by Joe Raposo Performed by Chaim Tannenbaum Produced by Stewart Lerman Send In The Clowns Written by Stephen Sondheim Performed by Ben Warheit (uncredited) My Name Is Carnival Written and Performed by Jackson C. Frank Courtesy of Sanctuary Records Group Ltd. By arrangement with BMG Rights Management (US) LLC Smile Written by Charles Chaplin, John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons Performed by Jimmy Durante Courtesy of Warner Records By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing That's Life Written by Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon Performed by Ellis Drane and his Jazz Orchestra (uncredited) Murray's Late Night Written by Bill O'Connell Produced by Stewart Lerman Toy Dept. (Toy Waltz) Cue from Modern Times (1936) Written by Charles Chaplin Orchestral Arrangement Courtesy of Bourne Co. Performed by Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks (as North German Radio Symphony Orchestra) Conducted by Timothy Brock Courtesy of CPO and Naxos By arrangement with Source/Q Bedding Dept. Cue from Modern Times (1936) Written by Charles Chaplin Orchestral Arrangement Courtesy of Bourne Co. Performed by Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks (as North German Radio Symphony Orchestra) Conducted by Timothy Brock Courtesy of CPO and Naxos By arrangement with Source/Q Descends In Lift Cue from Modern Times (1936) Written by Charles Chaplin Orchestral Arrangement Courtesy of Bourne Co. Performed by Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks (as North German Radio Symphony Orchestra) Conducted by Timothy Brock Courtesy of CPO and Naxos By arrangement with Source/Q In Basement Cue from Modern Times (1936) Written by Charles Chaplin Orchestral Arrangement Courtesy of Bourne Co. Performed by Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks (as North German Radio Symphony Orchestra) Conducted by Timothy Brock Courtesy of CPO and Naxos By arrangement with Source/Q Charlie Meets Burglars Cue from Modern Times (1936) Written by Charles Chaplin Orchestral Arrangement Courtesy of Bourne Co. Performed by Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks (as North German Radio Symphony Orchestra) Conducted by Timothy Brock Courtesy of CPO and Naxos By arrangement with Source/Q Bottle Bursts Cue from Modern Times (1936) Written by Charles Chaplin Orchestral Arrangement Courtesy of Bourne Co. Performed by Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks (as North German Radio Symphony Orchestra) Conducted by Timothy Brock Courtesy of CPO and Naxos By arrangement with Source/Q That's Life Written by Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon Performed by Frank Sinatra Courtesy of Frank Sinatra Enterprises Under license from Universal Music Enterprises Rock 'n' Roll (Part 2) Written by Gary Glitter and Mike Leander Performed by Gary Glitter Courtesy of Snapper Music PLC By arrangement with The Licensing Partnership Love Theme Cue from Modern Times (1936) Written by Charles Chaplin Orchestral Arrangement Courtesy of Bourne Co. Performed by Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks (as North German Radio Symphony Orchestra) Conducted by Timothy Brock Courtesy of CPO and Naxos By arrangement with Source/Q Spanish Flea Written by Julius Wechter Performed by Ray Davies and His Button Down Brass Courtesy of The Reader's Digest Association, Inc/The Orchard White Room Written by Jack Bruce and Pete Brown Performed by Cream Courtesy of Polydor Records Ltd. Under license from Universal Music Enterprises Send In The Clowns Written by Stephen Sondheim Performed by Frank Sinatra Courtesy of Frank Sinatra Enterprises Under license from Universal Music Enterprises PARENTS GUIDE FOR JOKER (2019) MPAA Rated PG-13 for substance abuse, thematic content, some strong language, and smoking Certifications: Australia:M Belgium:KT/EA Canada:PG (Alberta) Canada:PG (British Columbia) Canada:PG (Manitoba) Canada:G (Quebec) Denmark:7 Finland:K-12 Germany:0 Ireland:12A Malta:12A Netherlands:12 New Zealand:M Norway:7 Portugal:M/12 Russia:16+ Serbia:12 Singapore:PG13 Spain:12 (ICAA) Sweden:7 Thailand:13 United Kingdom:12A United States:PG-13 (certificate #51854) Certification MPAA Rated R for strong bloody violence, disturbing behavior, language and brief sexual images Certifications: Argentina:16 (with warning) Australia:MA15+ Austria:16 Belgium:KNT/ENA Brazil:16 Bulgaria:D Canada:14A (Alberta) Canada:14A (British Columbia) Canada:14A (Manitoba) Canada:13+ (Quebec) Chile:14 Colombia:15 Czech Republic:15 Denmark:15 Ecuador:16 (Guayaquil) Ecuador:18 (Loja) Ecuador:18 (Quito) Finland:K-16 France:12 avec avertissement Germany:16 Greece:A-18 Hong Kong:IIB Hungary:16 Iceland:16 India:A Indonesia:17+ Ireland:16 Ireland:18 (DVD rating) Israel:16 Italy:VM14 Japan:R15+ Lithuania:N-16 Luxembourg:16 Malaysia:18 Maldives:18+ Malta:15 Mexico:B15 (with warning) Netherlands:16 New Zealand:R16 Nigeria:18 Norway:15 Peru:14 Philippines:R-16 Poland:15 Portugal:M/14 Russia:18+ Singapore:NC16 South Africa:16 South Korea:15 Spain:18 (ICAA) Sweden:15 Switzerland:16 Taiwan:R-18 (original rating) Taiwan:R-15 (re-rating) Thailand:18 Turkey:18+ United Kingdom:15 United States:R (certificate #52301) Ukraine:16 Vietnam:C18 SEX & NUDITY Arthur's journal contains photos of fully nude women that can be seen through the film. The photos are scribbled on, somewhat blurry, and briefly seen. It is very difficult to spot nipples or anything else, although nudity is obvious it's easy to miss There are mentions of sexual roleplay in relationships by a comedian. However, the scene cuts away before the joke gets graphic. In the scene where Arthur receives a call inviting him to be on Murray's show he is lying on his bed with his hand down his underwear implying masturbation. However, it is brief and in the background, also easily missed. There are no sex scenes in this film. The pornography images are shown briefly and not in any close-ups, some can be hard to notice on first viewing. Arthur bathes his mother. Only her bare shoulders and back is shown. Arthur comes to his neighbor's place and kisses her. A man kisses an older lady in a non-sexual way. Signs containing risqué titles and images outside pornographic theaters. VIOLENCE & GORE A man is stabbed with a pair of scissors, once in the neck and once in the eye (on screen for 3-5 seconds), before having his head repeatedly bashed against a wall. He is still alive up to a certain part of his head being bashed, but he dies and the aftermath is gruesome. Very bloody and graphic. A man is hit in the face with a sign, thrown to the ground, and beaten by a group. No blood is seen. This film has scenes of violence including stabbings and shootings, with accompanying brief injury detail. While it's not excessively bloody and gory, it's extremely realistic and takes on a disturbing edge. It's in-your-face when it occurs, and it mostly happens for impact. A woman is smothered to death with a pillow (out of frame). Very shocking. A man walks away from a room with bloody footprints, implying that he may have murdered a person in the room. A man is shot in the head at close range, blood and brain matter sprays back. Later on the same dead man is shot again. A man chokes a man with his bare hands from outside a fence. A man draws a smile on his face with his own blood. A man is shot by a police officer. No blood is shown. A man and a woman are shot and killed. A Man is beaten up by a bunch of kids. These kids are later on shot and killed A man is murdered graphically on screen. A Man chokes a woman off screen to death using a pillow. PROFANITY There are 25 uses of "fuck", and 15 uses of "shit", as well as milder terms such as "prick" and "asshole". Most of the profanity in the film is either spread out and infrequent. The profanity is mainly used in quick succession within emotional outburst or spoken under one's breath. ALCOHOL, DRUGS & SMOKING Lots of smoking and drinking in the film Arthur Fleck is smoking in every other scene. Arthur takes 7 medications to help him survive with mental illness. Three men are shown drunk in the subway and annoy a woman. FRIGHTENING & INTENSE SCENES The Joker develops a very sick and demented sense of humor towards the film's culmination, and as such, some of his actions and statements can be extremely off-putting for some viewers. Some scenes of violence are unexpected and can be shocking. Despite this essentially being a "comic book" film, it is incredibly violent and disturbing. This film is incredibly hardcore and disturbingly violent, and it's not for the squeamish nor the faint of heart. The film's tone is relentlessly dark and is designed to leave the viewer exhausted and in despair by its denouement. There are scenes in this movie that are really intense and some viewers may find them scary. SPOILERS The Parents Guide items below may give away important plot points. VIOLENCE & GORE A man falls on the floor and is kicked repeatedly by three men until he pulls out a handgun and shoots one man in the chest (we see blood and matter on the walls), another man in the head (blood sprays) and the third man in the leg (blood pours from the wound); the shooter follows the wounded man out of the train and shoots him two more times until he is dead. Two officers are beaten by a mob of rioters on the subway. Near the end of the film, another vehicle crashes into a police car Arthur is in. The crash happens quickly and no blood is shown while it happens, but when Arthur is taken out of the car, his nose is broken and bloody. He coughs out blood. A man shoots another man in the head during a live talk show, blood and brain matter sprays back onto a wall behind the victim (we also see blood on the wound), people scream and run and the shooter shoots the man again in the chest. FRIGHTENING & INTENSE SCENES The scene when Arthur kills his ex colleague in the apartment is unexpected and extremely shocking and graphic. For more details look at the violence / gore section Arthur smothers his mother after learning she abused and lied to him. This scene feels very lengthy and is extremely unsettling. Near the end, Joker shoots Murray Franklin in the head on live TV. This is extremely shocking and disturbing While performing in a children's hospital, Arthur drops a gun in front of a group of sick children and hospital workers. This may be shocking and quite offensive to some viewers, although the tone of the scene is darkly comedic. In a flashback it is revealed that Arthur Fleck was abused as a child, as his mother would let men beat him physically while tied to a radiator. This information is just briefly spoken and never shown. Throughout the film, Arthur is constantly tormented by Gotham's society and as a result, he becomes more and more unhinged and chaotic until he becomes the titular character, the notorious homicidal supervillain known as the Joker. His descent into madness is chilling, and he starts killing people out of revenge for what they did to him. This is emotionally upsetting. AWARDS FOR JOKER (2019) Camerimage 2019 Winner Audience Award Best Film Lawrence Sher Winner Golden Frog Main Competition Lawrence Sher (director of photography) Golden Trailer Awards 2019 Nominee Golden Trailer Best Teaser Warner Bros. Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards 2020 Nominee Artisan Best Period and/or Character Makeup - Feature-Length Motion Picture Nicki Ledermann Tania Ribalow Sunday Englis Best Contemporary Hair Styling - Feature-Length Motion Picture Kay Georgiou Vanessa Anderson Hollywood Music In Media Awards (HMMA) 2019 Nominee HMMA Award Best Original Score - Feature Film Hildur Guðnadóttir Palm Springs International Film Festival 2020 Winner Chairman's Award Joaquin Phoenix Venice Film Festival 2019 Winner Fanheart3 Award Graffetta d'Oro for Best Film Todd Phillips Winner Golden Lion Best Film Todd Phillips Winner Soundtrack Stars Award Best Soundtrack Hildur Guðnadóttir Related News: 08 November 2019 - Hollywoodnews.com - - Joker Stuns Box Office to Become Most Profitable Comic Book Film Ever Released - 08 November 2019 - Indiewire Martin Scorsese may have influenced Joker, but writer/director Todd Phillips reveals that it was a specific era of cinema that inspired his and Joaquin Phoenix's take on the classic villain. See it -- On the Internet Movie Data Base Read about Joker On the Internet Movie Data Base <\td>

Cast: Cast overview, first billed only: Joaquin Phoenix ... Arthur Fleck Robert De Niro ... Murray Franklin Zazie Beetz      ... Sophie Dumond Frances Conroy ... Penny Fleck Brett Cullen ... Thomas Wayne Shea Whigham ... Detective Burke Bill Camp      ... Detective Garrity Glenn Fleshler ... Randall Leigh Gill      ... Gary Josh Pais      ... Hoyt Vaughn Rocco Luna    ... GiGi Dumond Marc Maron      ... Gene Ufland Sondra James ... Dr. Sally Murphy Guyer ... Barry O'Donnell Douglas Hodge ... Alfred Pennyworth