JOKER : Movie of the year or not ?

Directed by : Todd Phillips.

Production : Warner Bros. Pictures, Bron Creative, Village Roadshow Pictures.

Release date : August 31 (Venice) / October 4 (United States) 2019.

Personal note : ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Synopsis : 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".

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So, how to start this. It was simply amazing. You know, I never have been a big fan of the whole Batman/Joker thing during my whole life. I knew about them because of their reputation and because of the many movies that have been released about them during the years, but I hadn't watched any of them until now because I simply wasn't interessed. But then, one day, I've heard that a new JOKER movie was to come out and I saw everyone talking about the trailer and, well, I obviously got curious. "Why are they so excited, isn't it like the hundred movie they released about this character ?" was my first thought. Me being me, I then decided to see what the fuss was about and watched the trailer. And, unsurprisingly, I fell in love immediately like everyone else before me.

What got me the most excited was the fact that, for once, the Joker wouldn't start directly as that crazy guy obsessed with fighting against Batman. It would start with the life of Arthur Fleck, a man taking care of his mother with an handicap and the dream of becoming a comedian. A man invisible, not funny enough, not good looking enough, just simply not enough to be considered as a part of the society, or to be respected. And when I finally watched the movie today, my first impression about the character revealed itself to be true ; we can actually understand and feel close to Arthur, as human beings. We can relate to him, to his distress while facing this cruel world, and to his pain. He isn't a bad guy, just a broken one who is tired to being considered as worthless.

Don't get me wrong, I do not say murdering people is something relatable nor good, but while watching the movie, I could only think : "Well, these people deserved this." Anyways. My point is that, JOKER offered us a villain that was turned bad not because of himself, but because of what the society did to him. Arthur just wanted to be a good son, a comedian, have a pretty girlfriend and just to be happy. But no one would let him. That's why, for me, this movie deserves to be considered as the best (this far) of the year. Because this story is not just about a bad man causing chaos, it's about chaos destroying a good man.

| Lola's Universe.