Thoughts on Joker
Nov. 3rd, 2019 08:33 pmI saw Joker the other day and have to offer some scattered thoughts on it. The bottom line: I loved it and think it is probably the best DC movie ever—but many have a very different view, which I want to haphazardly unpack.
Context: I'm not really a DC fan, not a Batman fan, not a fan of the Joker as a character, and not acquainted with the Scorsese films Joker draws on. This probably contributes to my loving this movie because I had no serious cultural touchstones to be wounded by it. On a basic level, I thought this film took a pretty boring villain and made him fascinating and human, and it did so in the context of trenchant social commentary.
( Spoilers may follow )
Context: I'm not really a DC fan, not a Batman fan, not a fan of the Joker as a character, and not acquainted with the Scorsese films Joker draws on. This probably contributes to my loving this movie because I had no serious cultural touchstones to be wounded by it. On a basic level, I thought this film took a pretty boring villain and made him fascinating and human, and it did so in the context of trenchant social commentary.