Review – Joker (2019)

As Dark As It Gets…..

Ok so I finally got the chance to sit and watch the much hyped Joker yesterday. Did it live up to all that I’ve heard about it ??? Absolutely 100% it did. It’s basically two hours of watching an average guy, Arthur Fleck, clown and wannabe stand up comic, fall apart and slowly unravel, due to the most awful set of circumstances, most of them completely beyond his control. All this happens to devastating effect. Everything you’ve heard is true. It’s brutal and quite cruel in parts. It’s dark as hell and it couldn’t be further away from the classic 60s television Batman if it tried. It’s also brilliantly played by the two leads, Joaquin Phoenix as the unfortunate Arthur, and Robert De Niro as television talk show presenter Murray Franklin.

Certain scenes were hard to watch, but you have to get through them to get to the meat of the story, and to understand why Arthur finally turns on the world and becomes The Joker. No spoilers here whatsoever. All I will say to those who haven’t yet seen this modern masterpiece is please take the time to watch it. You won’t be disappointed. Joker is brilliantly executed and an acting masterclass from start to finish. It’s also the most frightening descent into madness I’ve witnessed since Jack Nicholson totally lost his marbles in The Shining.