Joker Review - A Necessary Peek On His Life

Ever since I’ve read an article na nag-8 minute standing ovation ang audience sa Venice Film Festival nang mapanood ito, iyon na, na-curious na ako rito. I mean, why? Gano’n ba talaga kaganda?

At nang mapanood ko na nga kagabi, napatunayan ko nga. It really didn’t disappoint.

It’s totally different than the earlier versions of Joker we’ve seen. And it’s way above sa performance na ginawa ung Joker sa Suicide Squad. Thank God for this, makakalimutan ko na rin ‘yung Joker na may damaged na tattoo sa noo.

It’s like Joaquin Phoenix was born for the role. Hindi na nakapagtataka kung makahakot award ito sa next Academy Awards. And if not—better they reconsider, because there will be riot and blood will shed.

Compared to Heath Ledger’s Joker, I like Joaquin’s character more. But that’s not saying na dapat na ring kalimutan ‘yung kay Heath Ledger. He’s a legend. And always will be. I mean, their characters were way different. Ledger’s Joker was introduced as a mob leader already whereas in this film, Phoenix’s Joker was more of showing his human side. But acting-wise, both were great.

At Phoenix’s Joker, we get to learn first about his family and his dark past. We were shown the everyday struggles na ikinahaharap niya. And one thing na mas ikinatutuwa ko sa movie na ito ay ang representation ng mental illness. As in ngayon ko lang nalaman na may ganoon palang klaseng kondisyon, a laughing mental illness called pseudobulbar affect. Don’t worry, it’s not a spoiler.

Joker made us step into his shoe and be him and learn to understand him. Sa tuwing nahaharap siya sa gulo gawa ng kondisyon niya at ng pagiging bulag ng mga tao sa ganitong kondisyon, sa pagtanggap na may ganito palang klase ng tao—nasasaktan din ako. It really shows that our society is fucked up. The movie did great on showing that ugliness. This film is a wake-up call like most viewers say. And it’s sad because I realized that I too, was guilty of this. I’ve met a few people before na may mental illness din. And sometimes I wanted them to behave normally when in fact they couldn’t. May mental illness nga eh? Still, I take time to understand pa rin naman. And it’s a good that that these kind of film exists to let people know that we are different, that not all of us ay pare-parehas ng kinahaharap. There are some who suffers more than we know. And Arthur Fleck is one of those.

Don’t expect Avengers-level of fight scenes here. Walang ganoon dito. But I can assure you that it will still manage to entertain you with every second. First scene pa nga lang, na-hook na agad ako. Subtle yet so effective acting. I felt sorry for him right away. And there are scenes na ang bigat sa dibdib. Prepare to be emotionally wrecked.

Also, this is R-rated. There are brutalities. Hello? This is Joker we are talking about. What do you think would he do? Magkakanta-kanta ala-Disney princess? Baliw.

Though I’m a solid MCU-fan, I still would like to thank DC for giving us these kind of dark films that Marvel couldn’t risk on doing. It’s like they’re complementary. Too much of the one side is nakakasawa rin kaya narito ang dark films ng DC to appease us. Sana lang ay mag-continue sila sa paggawa ng ganitong klaseng films.

Don’t be confused to the purpose of the film. It’s not saying that we should idolize the Joker. What I think the film wanted us to know is that it’s never too late para i-prevent ang ganitong pangyayari. Learn to be more empathetic, simulan niyo nang ayus-ayusin ang pakikitungko niyo kahit kanino man bago pa man mag-turn to the dark side ang kung sino mang kakilala ninyo.