''Joker'' is a 2019 American
psychological drama thriller film directed by
Todd Phillips, who also co-wrote the screenplay with
Scott Silver. The film, based on
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
characters, stars
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (; né Bottom; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for playing dark and unconventional characters in independent films. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Acad ...
as the
Joker and serves as a standalone
origin story for the character. Set in 1981, it follows Arthur Fleck, a failed clown and aspiring stand-up comic whose descent into mental illness and
nihilism
Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by I ...
inspires a violent countercultural revolution against the prosperous in a decaying
Gotham City
Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, t ...
.
Robert De Niro
Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
,
Zazie Beetz and
Frances Conroy
Frances Hardman Conroy is an American actress. She is best known for playing Ruth Fisher on the television series '' Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005), for which she won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and received four Prime ...
appear in supporting roles. Distributed by
Warner Bros. Pictures, ''Joker'' was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and
DC Films
DC Studios is an American film and television studio that is a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. It is dedicated to the production of films, series, and animations based on characters from DC Comics, ...
in association with
Village Roadshow Pictures
Village Roadshow Pictures is the American subsidiary of the Australian co-producer and co-financier of major Hollywood motion pictures established in 1986. It is a division under Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (VREG), which in turn is o ...
,
Bron Creative
Bron Studios (stylized as BRON) is a Canadian motion picture company based in British Columbia owned by Bron Media Corporation. Bron's notable productions include '' Joker, Bombshell, Queen & Slim, Greyhound, Judas and the Black Messiah,'' '' T ...
and Joint Effort.
Phillips conceived ''Joker'' in 2016 and wrote the script with Silver throughout 2017. The two were inspired by 1970s character studies and the films of
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...
, particularly ''
Taxi Driver
''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and ...
'' (1976) and ''
The King of Comedy'' (1982), who was initially attached to the project as a producer. The film loosely adapts plot elements from ''
Batman: The Killing Joke'' (1988), but Phillips and Silver otherwise did not look to specific comics for inspiration. Phoenix became attached in February 2018 and was cast that July, while the majority of the cast signed on by August.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
took place in New York City,
Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark, New Jersey, Newark. and
Newark, from September to December 2018. ''Joker'' is the first live-action
theatrical ''Batman'' film to receive an
R rating from the
Motion Picture Association
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...
.
''Joker'' premiered at the
76th Venice International Film Festival
The 76th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 28 August to 7 September 2019. Film director Lucrecia Martel was appointed as the President of the Jury. '' The Truth'', directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, was selected to open the f ...
on August 31, 2019, where it won the
Golden Lion and was theatrically released in the United States on October 4, 2019. While Phoenix's performance, Phillips' direction, the visual style, editing, musical score, and cinematography were praised, the dark tone, portrayal of mental illness, and handling of violence divided opinions and generated concerns of inspiring real-life violence. The film was a box office success and set records for an October release. It grossed over $1 billion, the first
R-rated film to do so and became the
sixth-highest-grossing film of 2019 during its theatrical run. The film also received
numerous other accolades. A
musical
Musical is the adjective of music
Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...
sequel, titled ''
Joker: Folie À Deux'', is scheduled to be released on October 4, 2024.
Plot
Arthur Fleck, a clown, lives with and cares for his mother, Penny, in crime-infested and economically stagnant
Gotham City
Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, t ...
. Arthur suffers from a neurological disorder that causes him to laugh uncontrollably at inappropriate times, and is dependent on medication from a community service program. After Arthur is deliberately attacked by juvenile thugs, his co-worker Randall gives him a handgun for self-defense. Arthur pursues a relationship with his neighbor, single mother Sophie and invites her to see his stand-up routine at a comedy club. At a children's hospital, Arthur's gun falls out of his trouser leg onto the floor in full view of the children. Randall lies to their manager, stating the handgun was Arthur's own prop and Arthur is immediately sacked. Depressed on the subway, still in clown makeup, Arthur suffers a laughing fit and becomes accosted by a group of three drunk businessmen, shooting two of them in self-defense and killing the third as he attempts to flee. The killings are condemned by billionaire mayoral candidate
Thomas Wayne, whom the men worked for, calling supporters of the murderer "clowns." Protesters react by donning clown masks in Arthur's image. Budget cuts shut down the community service program, leaving Arthur without medication.
Sophie attends Arthur's stand-up routine, which goes badly; he laughs uncontrollably and his jokes fall flat. Arthur intercepts a letter from Penny to Thomas, alleging that he is Thomas's illegitimate son, and berates his mother for hiding the truth. He goes to
Wayne Manor
Wayne Manor Estate (or simply Wayne Manor) is a fictional mansion appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the personal residence of Bruce Wayne, who is also the superhero Batman.
The residence is depicted as a large mansi ...
, where he meets Thomas' young son
Bruce, but flees after a struggle with the family butler
Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman.
Pennyworth is depicted as Bruce Wayne's loyal and tireless butler, l ...
. Penny suffers a stroke and is hospitalized. Arthur's idol, popular late-night talk show host Murray Franklin, mocks Arthur by showing clips of his failed performance, calling him a "joker", angering Arthur. Arthur sneaks into a private event at a cinema and confronts Thomas, who tells him that he is not his father and that Penny is not his biological mother. In denial, Arthur visits
Arkham State Hospital and steals Penny's file, which states she was a narcissist who adopted Arthur while working as a housekeeper for the Waynes in the 1950s. Penny then raised Arthur with her abusive boyfriend, who later died in prison. Penny was subsequently institutionalized at Arkham for failing to stop the abuse.
Distraught, Arthur enters Sophie's apartment unannounced. Frightened, Sophie talks to Arthur as if the two had never met, saying that she just recognizes him from down the hall, then asks him to leave. The film flashes back to moments where Arthur had seen Sophie, revealing that Sophie had not actually been there, confirming that the two were strangers and her presence in his life was a delusion. The following day, Arthur murders Penny at the hospital, killing her for her deceit. Arthur is invited to appear on Murray's show due to the sudden popularity his stand-up clips have attracted, and he accepts while secretly planning to commit suicide on live television. Arthur's ex-colleagues Randall and Gary visit him at his apartment, and Arthur stabs Randall out of revenge while sparing Gary for treating him well in the past. As Arthur, now dressing in a colorful costume and clown makeup, walks to Murray's TV studio, he is intercepted by two detectives who suspect his involvement in the subway murders. The detectives pursue him onto a subway filled with clown protestors. One detective accidentally shoots a protester and incites a
riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people.
Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property target ...
, allowing Arthur to escape in the chaos and arrive at the studio.
Before the show goes live, Arthur asks Murray to introduce him as
Joker, in reference to Murray's earlier mockery. On stage, Arthur tells dark jokes before confessing to the subway murders, ranting about how society abandons the downtrodden and psychologically ill and berating Murray for mocking him. Murray argues with Arthur, who becomes enraged and shoots him in the face, murdering him on live television. The horrified audience flees, and Arthur begins to monologue to the camera before the feed is cut. He is arrested as riots erupt across Gotham. One of the rioters corners the Wayne family in an alley and
kills Thomas and his wife Martha, sparing Bruce. Rioters in an ambulance ram into the police car carrying Joker, freeing him; he stands atop the car and begins dancing to the cheers of the rioters, smearing blood on his face in the shape of a smile. Later, at Arkham, Joker laughs menacingly to himself about a joke during a session with a therapist, but declines to tell it, claiming she wouldn't get it. He escapes, leaving behind bloodied shoeprints as an orderly chases him throughout the corridors.
Cast
*
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (; né Bottom; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for playing dark and unconventional characters in independent films. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Acad ...
as
Arthur Fleck / the Joker: A mentally ill, impoverished party clown and stand-up comedian disregarded by society,
whose history of abuse causes him to become a
nihilistic criminal with a clown motif.
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."
Phoenix lost 52 pounds (23 kg) for his role in the film.
*
Robert De Niro
Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
as Murray Franklin:
A talk show host who plays a role in Arthur's downfall.
De Niro said his role in ''Joker'' pays
homage to his character from ''
The King of Comedy'' (1983), Rupert Pupkin, who is a comedian obsessed with a talk-show host.
*
Zazie Beetz as Sophie Dumond:
A cynical single mother and Arthur's "love interest".
Beetz, a "huge fan" of Phoenix, said that it was "an honor" to costar with him and that she learned a lot working with him on set.
*
Frances Conroy
Frances Hardman Conroy is an American actress. She is best known for playing Ruth Fisher on the television series '' Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005), for which she won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and received four Prime ...
as Penny Fleck: Arthur's mentally and physically ill mother,
who formerly worked for
Thomas Wayne.
Canadian actress
Hannah Gross portrays a young Penny.
Additionally,
Brett Cullen portrays
Thomas Wayne, a billionaire running for mayor of Gotham.
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nich ...
was initially cast in the role, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.
Carrie Louise Putrello portrays Thomas's wife
Martha, although the character has no lines and is never referred to by name.
Douglas Hodge plays
Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman.
Pennyworth is depicted as Bruce Wayne's loyal and tireless butler, l ...
, the butler and caretaker of the Wayne family,
and
Dante Pereira-Olson
Dante Pereira-Olson (born August 13, 2008) is an American child actor best known for his work on ''You Were Never Really Here'' and '' Joker'', both starring Joaquin Phoenix.
Career
After appearing in several television shows, including '' Las ...
plays
Bruce Wayne
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...
, Thomas' son, who becomes the Joker's archenemy Batman as an adult.
Additional cast members include
Glenn Fleshler and
Leigh Gill
Leigh Gill is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Game of Thrones'' and '' Joker''.
Filmography
* ''Game of Thrones'' (2016)
* '' Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' (2016)
* '' Hot Dog '' (2018)
* '' Joker'' (2019)
* ...
as Randall and Gary, Arthur's clown co-workers;
Bill Camp and
Shea Whigham as detectives Garrity and Burke in the
Gotham City Police Department
Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, th ...
;
Marc Maron
Marcus David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' and has appeared more than fort ...
as Gene Ufland, a producer on Franklin's show;
Sharon Washington as Arthur's social worker;
Josh Pais as Hoyt Vaughn, Arthur's agent;
Brian Tyree Henry as Clark, a clerk at
Arkham State Hospital;
Ben Warheit,
Michael Benz
Michael Benz (born ) is an English-American actor.
Early life and education
Benz was born in England to American parents Thomas and Margaret Benz. He attended The American School in London before graduating from Georgetown University in 200 ...
and Carl Lundstedt as bankers who harass Arthur;
Gary Gulman and
Sam Morril as comedians at an
open mic
An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, usually taking place at night, in which audience members may perform on stage whether t ...
where Arthur performs;
and
Bryan Callen as Javier, a co-worker of Arthur.
Justin Theroux has an uncredited
cameo as Ethan Chase, a celebrity guest on Franklin's show.
Production
Development
Between 2014 and 2015,
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (; né Bottom; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for playing dark and unconventional characters in independent films. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Acad ...
expressed interest to his agent in acting in a low-budget "character study" type of film about a
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...
villain, like
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
character the
Joker.
Phoenix had thought of the idea 1 to 2 years before Phillips conceived ''Joker'' in 2016. Phoenix had previously declined to act in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...
because he would have been required to reprise a role, such as the
Hulk (initially portrayed by
Edward Norton
Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award and three Academy Award nominations.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised ...
before he was recast by
Mark Ruffalo
Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor and producer best known for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the television series '' She-Hulk: Attorn ...
) or
Doctor Strange, in multiple films.
Phoenix ruled out the Joker for his "character study" idea and tried to think of a different one. "I thought, 'You can't do the Joker, because, you know, it's just you can't do that character, it's just been done.'" Phoenix's agent suggested setting up an exploratory meeting with Warner Bros., but he declined and let go of the idea.
Similarly,
Todd Phillips had been offered to direct comic-based films a number of times, but declined because he thought they were "loud" and did not interest him. According to Phillips, ''Joker'' was created from his idea to create a different, more grounded comic book film.
He was attracted to the Joker because he did not think there was a definitive portrayal of the character, which he knew would provide considerable creative freedom.
Phillips pitched the idea for ''Joker'' to Warner Bros. after his film ''
War Dogs
Dogs in warfare have a very long history starting in ancient times. From being trained in combat, to their use as scouts, sentries, messengers, mercy dogs, and trackers, their uses have been varied and some continue to exist in modern militar ...
'' premiered in August 2016.
Prior to ''War Dogs'', Phillips was mostly known for his
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...
s, such as ''
Road Trip
A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance journey on the road. Typically, road trips are long distances travelled by automobile.
History
First road trips by automobile
The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by ...
'' (2000), ''
Old School'' (2003) and ''
The Hangover
''The Hangover'' is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips, co-produced with Daniel Goldberg, and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. It is the first installment in ''The Hangover'' trilogy. The film stars Bradley Cooper ...
'' (2009); ''War Dogs'' marked a venture into more unsettling territory.
During the premiere, Phillips realized "''War Dogs'' wasn't going to set the world on fire and I was thinking, 'What do people really want to see?'"
In addition, he found that it was difficult to make comedy films in the "woke culture", throughout opposition of "30 million people on Twitter". He finally thought that "How do I do something irreverent, but fuck comedy? Oh I know, let's take the comic book movie universe and turn it on its head with this".
He proposed that
DC Films
DC Studios is an American film and television studio that is a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. It is dedicated to the production of films, series, and animations based on characters from DC Comics, ...
differentiate its slate from the competing
Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
' by producing low-budget,
standalone film
A standalone film is a film that does not have any relation with other films. In the late 1990s, it was typical to create standalone films with no plans for sequels. The term "standalone film" appeared when sequels, spin-offs, and franchises bec ...
s.
After the successful release of ''
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as being ...
'' (2017), DC Films decided to deemphasize the
shared nature of its DC-based film franchise, the
DC Extended Universe
The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films and television series produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters tha ...
(DCEU).
In August 2017, Warner Bros. and DC Films revealed plans for the film, with Phillips directing and co-writing with
Scott Silver and
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...
set to co-produce with Phillips.
According to Tatiana Siegel of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'', Scorsese considered directing ''Joker'' before Phillips was chosen, though a Warner Bros. source said he only became involved because the film needed a
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
-based producer.
According to Kim Masters and Borys Kit of ''The Hollywood Reporter'',
Jared Leto
Jared Joseph Leto ( ; born December 26, 1971) is an American actor and musician. Known for his method acting in a variety of roles, he has received numerous accolades over a career spanning three decades, including an Academy Award and a Gol ...
, who portrayed the Joker in the DCEU, was displeased by the existence of a project separate from his interpretation.
In October 2019, Masters reported that Leto "felt 'alienated and upset'" when he learned that Warner Bros.—which had promised him a standalone DCEU Joker film—let Phillips proceed with ''Joker'', going as far as to ask his music manager
Irving Azoff
Irving Azoff (; born December 12, 1947) is an American entertainment executive and chairman of Full Stop Management, which represents recording artists. In the mid-1980s, he brought success to MCA Records.
Since September 2013, he has been chai ...
to get the project canceled. Masters added that Leto's irritation was what caused him to end his association with
Creative Artists Agency
Creative Artists Agency LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. It is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous clients. In March 2016, CAA had 1,800 employ ...
(CAA), as he believed "his agents should have told him about the Phillips project earlier and fought harder for his version of Joker." However, sources associated with Leto deny that he attempted to get ''Joker'' canceled and left CAA because of it.
Warner Bros. pushed for Phillips to cast
Leonardo DiCaprio as the Joker,
hoping to use his
frequent collaborator Scorsese's involvement to attract him.
However, Phillips said that Phoenix was the only actor he considered,
and that he and Silver 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 Joaquin Phoenix universe."
Phoenix said when he learned of the film, he became excited because it was the kind he was looking to make, describing it as unique and stating it did not feel like a typical "studio movie."
It took him some time to commit to the role, as it intimidated him and he said "oftentimes, in these movies, we have these simplified, reductive archetypes and that allows for the audience to be distant from the character, just like we would do in real life, where it's easy to label somebody as evil and therefore say, 'Well, I'm not that."
Writing
Phillips and Silver wrote ''Joker'' throughout 2017 and the writing process took about a year.
According to producer
Emma Tillinger Koskoff, it took some time to get approval for the script from Warner Bros., partly because of concerns over the content. Similarly, Phillips commented that there were "a zillion hurdles" during the year-long writing process due to the visibility of the character.
Phillips said that while the script's themes may reflect modern society, the film was not intended to be political.
He also noted that ''Joker'' is a story about child
trauma and mental illness.
In their script, Phillips talked about how difficult it is for patients to reveal their diagnoses, referring to a line from the film: "The worst part of having a mental illness is that people expect you to behave as if you don't."
The script draws inspiration from Scorsese films such as ''
Taxi Driver
''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and ...
'' (1976), ''
Raging Bull
''Raging Bull'' is a 1980 American Biographical film, biographical Sports film, sports Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler and adapted by Paul Schrader and Mardik ...
'' (1980) and ''
The King of Comedy'' (1983), as well as Phillips' ''
Hangover Trilogy''.
Other films Phillips has cited as inspiration include character studies released in the 1970s—such as ''
Serpico
''Serpico'' is a 1973 American neo-noir biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino in the title role. The screenplay was adapted by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler from the book of the same name written by P ...
'' (1973) and ''
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest may refer to:
* ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Ken Kesey
* ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (play), a 1963 stage adaptation of the novel starring Kirk Douglas
* ''One Flew Over the ...
'' (1975)—the silent film ''
The Man Who Laughs'' (1928) and several
musicals. Phillips said that aside from the tone, he did not consider ''Joker'' that different from his previous work, such as his ''Hangover'' films.
The film's premise was inspired by
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', '' V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell ...
and
Brian Bolland
Brian Bolland (; born 26 March 1951)Salisbury, Mark, ''Artists on Comic Art'' ( Titan Books, 2000) , p. 11 is a British comics artist. Best known in the United Kingdom as one of the definitive Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology ' ...
's graphic novel ''
Batman: The Killing Joke'' (1988), which depicts the Joker as a failed stand-up comedian,
while the climactic talk show scene was inspired by a similar scene in
Frank Miller
Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...
's ''
The Dark Knight Returns'' (1986). However, Phillips said the film does not "follow anything from the comic books... That's what was interesting to me. We're not even doing Joker, but the story of becoming Joker." Phillips later clarified that he meant they did not look to a specific comic for inspiration, but rather "picked and chose what we liked" from the character's history.
Having grown up in New York, Phillips also drew inspiration from life in New York City during the early 1980s.
The Subway shooting scene and its aftermath were inspired by the
1984 New York City Subway shooting
On December 22, 1984, Bernhard Goetz () shot four young men on a New York City Subway train in Manhattan after they allegedly tried to rob him.
Goetz surrendered to police nine days later and was charged with attempted murder, assault, reckles ...
,
while Arthur Fleck is partially based on the shooting's perpetrator, Bernhard Goetz.
Phillips and Silver found the most common Joker origin story, in which the character is disfigured after falling into a vat of acid, 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."
While the Joker had appeared in several films before, Phillips thought it was possible to produce a new story featuring the character. "It's just another interpretation, like people do interpretations of ''
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
''," he told ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''.
However, they did try to retain the ambiguous "multiple choice" nature of the Joker's past by positioning the character as an
unreliable narrator—with entire storylines simply being his delusions
—and left what mental illnesses he suffers from unclear.
As such, Phillips said the entire film is open to interpretation.
When a draft of the film's script, written in April 2018, was leaked and spread on the internet, Phillips stated that it was an old version from six months before filming began. Phillips also declined to take legal action against the spread of the script, stating that he liked having an old version circulate.
Pre-production
Following the disappointing critical and financial performance of ''
Justice League
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
'' (2017), in January 2018
Walter Hamada replaced
Jon Berg
The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films and television series produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that a ...
as the head of DC-based film production at Warner Bros. Hamada sorted through the various DC films in development, canceling some while advancing work on others; the film was set to begin filming in late 2018 with a small budget of $55 million.
Kim Masters of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'' said Warner Bros. was reluctant to let ''Joker'' move forward and gave it a small budget in an effort to dissuade Phillips.
Phillips said that Hamada did not understand what he was trying to do. By June,
Robert De Niro
Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
was under consideration for a supporting role in the film. The deal with Phoenix was finalized in July 2018,
after four months of persuasion from Phillips.
Immediately afterwards,
Warner Bros. officially
green-lit the film,
titled it ''Joker'' and gave it an October 4, 2019, release date. Warner Bros. described the film as "an exploration of a man disregarded by society
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mech ...
is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader
cautionary tale."
Scorsese's longtime associate Koskoff joined to produce,
although Scorsese left his producing duties due to other obligations.
Scorsese considered serving as an executive producer, but was preoccupied with his film ''
The Irishman''.
It was also confirmed that the film would have no effect on Leto's Joker and would be the first in a new series of DC films unrelated to the DCEU.
In July,
Zazie Beetz was cast in a supporting role and De Niro entered negotiations in August.
Frances McDormand
Frances Louise McDormand (born Cynthia Ann Smith; June 23, 1957) is an American actress and producer. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, McDormand has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, two Primetime Em ...
declined an offer to portray the mother of the Joker and
Frances Conroy
Frances Hardman Conroy is an American actress. She is best known for playing Ruth Fisher on the television series '' Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005), for which she won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and received four Prime ...
was cast.
At the end of July, Marc Maron,
and Bryan Callen joined the cast.
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nich ...
was cast as Thomas Wayne on August 27, but dropped out two days later due to scheduling conflicts.
Baldwin also noted the character's description as a reason for his departure, which called Thomas Wayne "a cheesy and tanned businessman who is more in the mold of a 1980s
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
".
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
commenced in September 2018 in New York City, under the
working title
A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...
''Romeo''.
Shortly after filming began, De Niro, Brett Cullen, Shea Whigham, Glenn Fleshler, Bill Camp, Josh Pais and Douglas Hodge were announced to have joined the film, with Cullen replacing Baldwin.
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Grammy Awards, in addition to nominations for nine Academy Awards, s ...
joined the film as a producer, and the director of photography was
Lawrence Sher, both of whom Phillips had previously collaborated with.
On September 22, a scene depicting a violent protest was filmed at the
Church Avenue station in
Kensington, Brooklyn, although the station was modified to look like the
Bedford Park Boulevard station in
the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...
. Filming of violent scenes also took place at the abandoned lower platform of the
Ninth Avenue station in
Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Sunset Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, bounded by Park Slope and Green-Wood Cemetery to the north, Borough Park to the east, Bay Ridge to the south, and Upper New York Bay to the ...
.
According to Beetz, Phillips rewrote the entire script during production; because Phoenix lost so much weight for the film, there would not be an opportunity for reshoots. She recalled, "we would go into Todd's trailer and write the scene for the night and then do it. During hair and makeup we'd memorize those lines and then do them and then we'd reshoot that three weeks later." Phillips recalled Phoenix sometimes walked off-set during filming because he lost self-control and needed to compose himself—to the confusion of other actors, who felt they had done something wrong. De Niro was one of the few Phoenix never walked out on and De Niro said he was "very intense in what he was doing, as it should be, as he should be."
Filming in
Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark, New Jersey, Newark. started on September 30 and shut down
Newark Avenue, while filming in November, starting on November 9, shut down
Kennedy Boulevard. Filming in
Newark began on October 13 and lasted until October 16.
Shortly before the Newark filming,
SAG-AFTRA received a complaint that
extras were locked in
subway cars for more than three hours during filming in Brooklyn, a break violation. The issue was quickly resolved after a representative visited the set. That month,
Dante Pereira-Olson
Dante Pereira-Olson (born August 13, 2008) is an American child actor best known for his work on ''You Were Never Really Here'' and '' Joker'', both starring Joaquin Phoenix.
Career
After appearing in several television shows, including '' Las ...
joined the cast as a young Bruce Wayne.
Whigham said towards the end of October the film was in "the middle" of production, adding that it was an "intense" and "incredible" experience.
By mid-November, filming had moved back to New York. Filming
wrapped on December 3, 2018, with Phillips posting a picture on his Instagram feed later in the month to commemorate the occasion.
In ''The Hollywood Reporter'' interview,
Emma Tillinger Koskoff said that most stressful filming was the "
Stair Dance" scene; because there were no laws on paparazzi in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, filming was disrupted by them. Initially, Lawrence Sher and Phillips had wanted to film on 65mm film for the
70mm format, but Warner Bros. rejected this due to cost, and the film was subsequently shot in using
Arri Alexa 65 digital cameras. Warner Bros. did however end up giving Joker a limited theatrical release in converted 70mm and 35mm presentations.
Post-production
Phillips confirmed he was in the process of editing ''Joker'' in March 2019. At
CinemaCon the following month, he stated the film was "still taking shape" and was difficult to discuss, as he hoped to maintain secrecy.
Phillips also denied most reports surrounding the film, which he felt was because it is "an origin story about a character that doesn't have a definitive origin."
Brian Tyree Henry was also confirmed to have a role in the film.
The visual effects were provided by
Scanline VFX and Shade VFX and supervised by Matthew Giampa and Bryan Godwin, with Erwin Rivera serving as the overall supervisor. ''Joker'' used less VFX work than other comics films, except few scenes including that Arthur smeared smile by his blood in crowd.
One scene that was cut from the film depicted Sophie watching Arthur's appearance on Franklin's show. The scene was intended to show the audience that she is still alive (as the film otherwise implies that Arthur kills her), but Phillips decided it would disrupt the narrative, which is portrayed from Arthur's point of view. In another deleted scene, Arthur reveals his crimes to a co-worker; the scene was ultimately removed because it provided "too much information" in the form of exposition.
The film's final budget was $55–70 million, considered by ''The Hollywood Reporter'' "a fraction" of the cost of a typical comic book-based film.
In comparison, the previous villain-centered DC film, ''
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...
'' (2016), cost $175 million.
$25 million of ''Joker'' budget was covered by the Toronto-based financing company Creative Wealth Media, while
Village Roadshow Pictures
Village Roadshow Pictures is the American subsidiary of the Australian co-producer and co-financier of major Hollywood motion pictures established in 1986. It is a division under Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (VREG), which in turn is o ...
and
Bron Studios each contributed 25%.
''Joker'' was also the first live-action theatrical film in the
''Batman'' film franchise to receive an
R rating from the
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distri ...
, due to "strong bloody violence, disturbing behavior, language and brief sexual images." In the United Kingdom, the
BBFC
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organization, non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national clas ...
gave the film a 15 certificate for "strong bloody violence
ndlanguage".
Design
Set
Gotham City
Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, t ...
in ''Joker'' was set in 1980s
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, according to Todd Phillips, "to separate it, quite frankly, from the DC universe". Mark Friedberg, the production designer of this film, said he established the filming location of Gotham Square in
Newark as a film set because there was still poverty.
He wanted Gotham to look like a gritty city, as described in ''
Taxi Driver
''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and ...
'', therefore named all structures and lines in this film and drew a specific map of Gotham city. He displayed 1970s brightly colored
muscle car
Muscle car is a description according to ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' that came to use in 1966 for "a group of American-made two-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." The '' Britannica Dictionary'' ...
s on the set, "conveying dissonance and being awful and beautiful at the same time". He also tried to describe Gotham as a decaying city through graffiti, garbage on the road and cracked sidewalks. The VFX team added fictional buildings, changing the skyline of the city to give the sense that the city was pressing down on Arthur.
Lawrence Sher said
sodium-vapor lights were used in this film, representing Arthur's isolation and his more hopeful side.
Arkham State Hospital is based on
Arkham Asylum
The Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane (), commonly referred to as Arkham Asylum, is a fictional psychiatric hospital/prison, named after the city of Arkham which appeared first in the stories of H. P. Lovecraft, and later appear ...
.
Warner Bros. Korea explained that it is a more realistic name in the real world.
The exterior of Arkham State hospital was filmed at
Brooklyn Army Terminal, while the interior was pictured in
Metropolitan Hospital Center of
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...
.
Throughout the film, two walls are shown inside Arkham State Hospital; one is clearly white in the first and last scenes, the other is dirty yellow in the scene in which Arthur runs with a medical report. This difference was intended to make the audience confused and to question the possibility that Arthur had been in hospital the entire time.
Character design
One of the most important inspiration affected behavior of Arthur is Little Tramp in
''Modern Times''. Phillips confirmed that his ridiculous movement was referred from
Charlie Chaplin, in commentary video of
''Vanity Fair''.
Phoenix revealed that Arthur's dance was inspired by that of
Ray Bolger
Raymond Wallace Bolger (January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American actor, dancer, singer, vaudevillian and stage performer (particularly musical theatre) who started in the silent-film era.
Bolger was a major Broadway performer in ...
, while the gesture making smile by two fingers was from
scarecrow
A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesle ...
in
''The Wizard of Oz''.
In preparation, Phoenix lost to look “wolf-like and malnourished and hungry.”,
and based his laugh on "videos of people suffering from
pathological laughter
Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in th ...
." He also sought to portray a character who audiences could not identify with and did not look to previous Joker actors for inspiration; instead, he read a book about political assassinations so he could understand killers and motivations.
In a behind-the-scenes video, Phillips explained that Arthur's normal face is the real mask and the Joker is the true personality.
He also said, in ''
LA Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' interview, that the genuine laugh of Arthur is only in the last scene. Director
Todd Phillips said that he intentionally left it ambiguous as to whether Arthur becomes the Joker of traditional
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...
stories or inspires a separate character,
although Phoenix believes that Arthur is the former.
Make-up and costumes
Nicki Ledermann
Nicole "Nicki" Ledermann (born January 8, 1968) is a German make-up artist for TV and film, known for her character makeup and period creations.
Ledermann was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Makeup in 2020 for her portrayal of '' Joker ...
and Kay Georgiou, the makeup designer and hairstylist tried to show Arthur Fleck to "be handmade and realistic". Georgiou designated Arthur as a man with unwashed hair. Arthur's costumes, designed by
Mark Bridges, were matched to look "aged, overdyed and distressed" through wearing him with cheap polyester pants and acrylic sweater. His color palette was set in 80s; blue, maroon, brown, mauve and gray.
In ''Deadline Hollywood'' interview, Bridges explained Arthur costume color started to juvenile mode, going darker with the tone of the story.
In the first scene, Arthur's "too small" hooded jacket and white socks emphasize the childish concept. It was a reflection of him living with his mother Penny, with her calling him "my little boy",
and the influence of
Charlie Chaplin.
However, he wore a charcoal sweater in the interview with the social worker and finally was in a "scab-colored knit top" in Arkham State Hospital.
A line depicting his old suit for many years was interpreted a mustard-toned vest and a patterned bottle-green shirt.
Meanwhile, Arthur in doctor costume is the homage of
Joker in ''The Dark Knight'', wearing nurse uniform to meet Harvey Dent in Gotham Hospital.
After turning Arthur into Joker, his design was also changed. His hair was dyed "broccoli" green and he wore a suit similar to the one in the original ''Batman'' series.
However, the Joker suit in this film had different colors compared to previous films (purple suit with a green or yellow shirt). Mark Bridges noted that it was result of Phillips' intention to not want to be "connected to anything else". Initially, the color of the suit in the script was set to
Terracotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta i ...
, but Bridges changed this to red to give "more expressive" emotion. Additionally, his suit colors (green, yellow, purple and red) were compared with those of his antagonists, including Thomas Wayne, giving them to gray and blue like Batman. Clown makeup was drawn with a classic, antique feel, with darker colors and tones and menacing eyebrows. Due to copyright laws stating that no two clowns can look alike, Ledermann faced a challenge.
Music
In August 2018,
Hildur Guðnadóttir
Hildur Ingveldardóttir Guðnadóttir (born 4 September 1982) is an Icelandic musician and composer. A classically trained cellist, she has played and recorded with the bands Pan Sonic, Throbbing Gristle, Múm, and Stórsveit Nix Noltes, and ...
was hired to compose the film's score.
Hildur began writing music after reading the script and meeting with Phillips, who "had a lot of strong ideas" about how he thought the score should sound. She worked on the ''Joker'' score alongside the score for the drama miniseries ''
Chernobyl''; Hildur told ''
The Hindu''
's Divya-Kala Bhavani switching between the two was challenging because the scores were so different.
Additionally, the film features the songs "
That's Life", "
Send In the Clowns", "
White Room" and "
Rock and Roll Part 2
"Rock and Roll" is the debut single by English glam rock singer Gary Glitter that was released in 1972, from his debut studio album ''Glitter (Gary Glitter album), Glitter''. Co-written by Glitter and Mike Leander, the song is in two parts: Part ...
".
The use of "Rock and Roll Part 2" generated controversy when it was reported that its singer, convicted child sex offender
Gary Glitter, would receive royalties, but it was later confirmed he would not.
The score was released on October 2, 2019, by
WaterTower Music. Hildur's music won numerous awards including an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...
, a
Satellite Award
The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take plac ...
, a
Saturn Award
The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...
, the
Hollywood Music in Media Awards
The Hollywood Music In Media Awards (HMMA) is an award organization honoring original music (Song and Score) in all forms visual media including film, TV, video games, trailers, commercial advertisements, documentaries, music videos and special pr ...
(HMMA) and the
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, with the latter making her the first woman to win as a solo composer in that category.
Marketing
Phillips promoted the film by posting on set photos on his Instagram account. On September 21, 2018, he released test footage of Phoenix in-costume as the Joker, with "
Laughing
Laughter is a pleasant physical reaction and emotion consisting usually of rhythmical, often audible contractions of the diaphragm and other parts of the respiratory system. It is a response to certain external or internal stimuli. Laughter c ...
" by
The Guess Who
The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1965. The band originated in 1962 and achieved an international hit single with a cover of " Shakin' All Over" in 1965 under the name Chad Allan and the Expressions. After ...
accompanying the footage. At CinemaCon on April 2, 2019, Phillips unveiled the first trailer for the film,
which was released online the following day. The trailer, prominently featuring the song "
Smile" performed by
Jimmy Durante
James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced songs ...
, generated positive responses, with some commentators comparing it to ''Taxi Driver'' and ''
Requiem for a Dream'' and praising Phoenix's performance. Writers described the trailer as dark and gritty, with ComicBook.com's Jenna Anderson feeling it appeared more like a
psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting.
In terms of context and co ...
than a comic book film.
Actor
Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards ...
, who has
voiced
Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds (usually consonants). Speech sounds can be described as either voiceless (otherwise known as ''unvoiced'') or voiced.
The term, however, is used to refe ...
the Joker since the 1992 cartoon ''
Batman: The Animated Series'', expressed enthusiasm on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. Conversely, ''
io9''s Germain Lussier said the trailer revealed too little and that it was too similar to photos Phillips had posted on Instagram. While he still believed it exhibited potential, Lussier overall thought the trailer was not "a home run." The trailer received over eight million views in the first few hours of release.
On August 25, 2019, Phillips released six brief teasers that contained flashes of writing, revealing the second trailer would be released on August 28. Filmmaker
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film '' Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, ...
commended the trailer, stating he thought the film "would still work even if
C Comics
C, or c, is the third letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''.
History
"C" ...
didn't exist" and praising its uniqueness. Overall, ''
Deadline Hollywood
''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, w ...
'' estimated that Warner Bros. spent $120 million on promotion and advertisements.
[
After release in theaters, Warner Bros. used negative critics on this film for promotion.
]
Release
Theatrical
''Joker'' had its world premiere at the 76th Venice International Film Festival
The 76th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 28 August to 7 September 2019. Film director Lucrecia Martel was appointed as the President of the Jury. '' The Truth'', directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, was selected to open the f ...
on August 31, 2019, where it received an eight-minute standing ovation
A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus ...
and won the Golden Lion award. It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...
on September 9, 2019. The film was released theatrically by Warner Bros. Pictures on October 4, 2019, in the United States and a day earlier in Australia and several other international markets. On November 16, 2019, it was screened at the White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...
for President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
, who reportedly enjoyed the film. Some theaters released this movie on 70mm film, by original intention of the movie's director. Following its nominations at various awards shows, the film was scheduled to be rereleased in theaters across North America, beginning on January 17, 2020.
Security concerns
On September 18, 2019, the United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
distributed an email warning service members of potential violence at theaters screening the film and noting the Joker character's popularity among the incel community. A separate memo revealed the Army received "credible" information from Texas law enforcement "regarding the targeting of an unknown movie theater during the release." However, according to ''Deadline Hollywood'', the FBI and the United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the I ...
found no credible threats surrounding the release of the film.
In an interview with ''TheWrap
''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009.
Awards
''TheWrap'' has won awards for its journalism, incl ...
'', Phillips expressed surprise at criticism of the film's dark tone, stating "it's because outrage is a commodity" and calling critics of the film "far-left
Far-left politics, also known as the radical left or the extreme left, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single definition. Some scholars consider ...
". Phoenix walked out of an interview by '' The Telegraph'' when asked if the film could inspire mass shooters. He later returned to finish the interview, but did not answer the question. Following this, journalists were disinvited from the premiere at TCL Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre (branded as TCL Chinese Theatre for naming rights reasons) is a movie palace on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States.
The original Chinese ...
, with only photographers being allowed to interact with the filmmakers and cast on the carpet. In a statement to ''Variety'', Warner Bros. said that "A lot has been said about ''Joker'' and we just feel it's time for people to see the film."
The film did not play at the Aurora, Colorado
Aurora (, ) is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties, Colorado, United States. The city's population was 386,261 at the 2020 United States Census with 336,035 residing in Arapahoe County, 47,720 residing in A ...
movie theater where the 2012 mass shooting occurred during a screening of ''The Dark Knight Rises
''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the ...
''. Three families of victims, as well as the mother of a witness, signed a letter to Warner Bros. with the request. Additionally, Landmark Theaters prohibited moviegoers from wearing Joker costumes during its run, while the Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
and New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest i ...
s increased police visibility at area theaters, though they did not receive "any specific threat."
Home media
''Joker'' was released on Digital HD on December 17, 2019, and on DVD, Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of s ...
and Ultra HD Blu-ray
Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional B ...
on January 7, 2020. It debuted on HBO on May 16, 2020, and on HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netwo ...
when it launched on May 27, 2020.
Reception
Box office
''Joker'' grossed $335.5 million in the United States and Canada and $738.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.074 billion. It is the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2019 and the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, as well as the first R-rated film to pass the billion-dollar mark. In terms of budget-to-gross ratio, ''Joker'' is also the most profitable film based on a comic book, due to its small budget and little decline in week-to-week grosses during its theatrical run, surpassing the record previously held by ''Deadpool
Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in '' New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, De ...
''. ''Deadline Hollywood'' estimated the film made a net profit of $437 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.
In August 2019, ''BoxOffice'' magazine analyst Shawn Robbins wrote that he expected ''Joker'' to gross $60–90 million during its opening weekend in North America. Following the film's premiere, ''BoxOffice'' predicted ''Joker'' could open to $70–95 million domestically. Later updating to $85–105 million, Robbins suggested it could become the first October release to open to over $100 million and surpass the record set by ''Venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a ...
'' in 2018. However, Comscore's senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian thought the film would open closer to $50 million because it is not a "typical comic-book movie." Three weeks prior to its release, official industry tracking projected the film would debut to $65–80 million, with some estimates going as high as $90 million. The week of its release, Atom Tickets announced pre-sale totals for the film were outpacing those of ''Venom'' and '' It Chapter Two'' ($91.1 million debut) and that ''Joker'' was its second-bestselling R-rated film of 2019 behind '' John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum''.
''Joker'' opened in 4,374 theaters in North America and made $39.9 million on its first day, including $13.3 million from Thursday night previews, besting ''Venom''s respective October records. The film also had the biggest October opening day of any film, beating out ''Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. ...
''.
It went on to break ''Venom'' record for having the biggest October opening weekend, finishing with a domestic total of $96.2 million. The film set career records for Phoenix, Phillips and De Niro and was the fourth-largest debut for an R-rated film of all time. This record would cross over ''The Matrix Reloaded
''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science-fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is a sequel to ''The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Lau ...
'', staying behind ''Deadpool'', '' Deadpool 2'' and '' It''. It was also Warner Bros.' biggest domestic opening in two years. In its second weekend the film fell just 41.8% to $55.9 million, remaining in first and marking the best second-weekend October total (besting ''Gravity
In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the str ...
''s $43.1 million in 2013). It made $29.2 million in its third weekend and $19.2 million in its fourth, finishing second behind '' Maleficent: Mistress of Evil'' both times. After 155 days, ''Joker''s American theatrical run wrapped up on March 5, 2020 with a final gross of $355.5 million, making it the fourth-highest domestic gross for an R-rated film, behind ''The Passion of the Christ
''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film produced, directed and co-written by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as Mar ...
'', ''Deadpool'' and '' American Sniper''.
Worldwide, the film was projected to debut to around $155 million, including $75 million from 73 overseas territories. It made $5.4 million from four countries on its first day and $18.7 million from 47 in its second, for a two-day total of $24.6 million. It went on to greatly exceed expectations, making $140.5 million from overseas territories and a total $234 million worldwide. Its largest markets were South Korea (a Warner Bros. record $16.3 million), the United Kingdom ($14.8 million), Mexico ($13.1 million) and Japan ($7 million). With this, it became the biggest worldwide opening for an October film. During its second weekend, the film made an additional $125.7 million worldwide, and $77.9 million in its third. By this point, industry analysts expected ''Joker'' to become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, with some suggesting that it could finish its run with over $1 billion. The film became the highest-grossing R-rated film in its fourth weekend, during which it grossed $47.8 million internationally, and passed the billion-dollar mark about a month into its theatrical release.
Critical response
On review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, ''Joker'' holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, "''Joker'' gives its infamous central character a chillingly plausible origin story that serves as a brilliant showcase for its star – and a dark evolution for comics-inspired cinema." Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 59 out of 100 based on 60 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 84% (with an average 4 out of 5 stars) and a 60% "definite recommend".
Mark Kermode
Mark James Patrick Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter and podcaster. He is the chief film critic for ''The Observer'', contributes to the magazine ''Sight & Sound'', pre ...
of ''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...
'' rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, stating "''Joker'' has an ace card in the form of Joaquin Phoenix's mesmerisingly physical portrayal of a man who would be king." Writing for IGN, Jim Vejvoda gave ''Joker'' a perfect score, saying that the film "would work just as well as an engrossing character study without any of its DC Comics trappings; that it just so happens to be a brilliant ''Batman''-universe movie is icing on the Batfan cake." He found it a powerful and unsettling allegory of contemporary neglect and violence and described Phoenix's performance as the Joker as engrossing and " Oscar-worthy". Similarly, Xan Brooks of ''The Observer''—who also gave the film a perfect score—called it "gloriously daring and explosive" and appreciated how Phillips used elements from Scorsese films to create an original story. '' Variety''s Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for '' Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014 ...
wrote, "Phoenix is astonishing as a mentally ill geek who becomes the killer-clown Joker in Todd Phillips' neo-''Taxi Driver'' knockout: the rare comic-book movie that expresses what's happening in the real world."
''ComicBook.com''s Brandon Davis acclaimed ''Joker'' as a groundbreaking comic book adaptation that he found scarier than most 2019 horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apo ...
s. Davis compared it favorably to the 2008 ''Batman'' film ''The Dark Knight
''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and the second instal ...
'', praised the cinematography and performances and called it a film that needed to be seen to be believed. ''Deadline Hollywood''s Pete Hammond believes the film redefines the Joker and is "impossible to shake off". Hammond also praised the story and performances and summarized the film as "a bravura piece of filmmaking that speaks to the world we are actually living in today in ways that few movies do." Peter Travers
Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
of ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
'' said he was lost for words in describing Phoenix's performance, calling the film "gut-wrenching" and "simply stupendous".
David Ehrlich of ''IndieWire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...
'' was more mixed and gave the film a "C+". He felt that while "''Joker'' is the boldest and most exciting superhero movie since ''The Dark Knight''", it was "also incendiary, confused and potentially toxic". Ehrlich thought that the film would make DC fans happy and praised Phoenix's performance, but criticized Phillips' direction and the lack of originality. A critical review came from Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com
''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times' ...
, who gave the film two stars out of four. Though he praised the performances and thought the story worked, Kenny criticized the social commentary and Phillips' direction, finding the film too derivative and believing its focus was "less in entertainment than in generating self-importance". In an analysis of the character Joker, Onmanorama's Sajesh Mohan wrote that the movie was cliché-ridden, the only original part being Joaquin Phoenix's acting. "The movie, with great pain and in detail, explains how Arthur Fleck turns into Joker dejected by the way the world treats him. Thanks to Phillips and Silver, Phoenix was able to bring out the king among the Jokers," the analysis read.
Stephanie Zacharek of ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
'' magazine, in a negative review, labeled Phoenix's performance over-the-top and felt that while Phillips tried to " iveus a movie all about the emptiness of our culture... he's just offering a prime example of it." She argued the plot was nonexistent, "dark only in a stupidly adolescent way" and "stuffed with phony philosophy". Meanwhile, NPR's Glen Weldon
Glen Weldon is an American writer, cultural critic, and podcaster. He has written for publications such as '' The Washington Post'', '' The New York Times'', ''Slate'', '' The Atlantic'', and '' McSweeney's''. Weldon currently writes for the NPR A ...
thought the film lacked innovation and said its sympathetic take on the Joker was "wildly unconvincing and mundanely uninteresting". Weldon also described ''Joker'' as trying too hard to deviate from the comics and, as a result, coming off as an imitation of films like ''Taxi Driver''. Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire''.
Early life and education
Bradshaw was educated at Haberdasher ...
of ''The Guardian'' called it "the most disappointing film of the year". While praising Phoenix's performance and the first act, he criticized the film's political plot developments and overall found it too derivative of various Scorsese films.
Industry response
''Joker'' generated positive responses from industry figures. DC Comics chief creative officer Jim Lee
Jim Lee ( Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a H ...
praised it as "intense, raw and soulful" and stated that it had remained true to the character despite deviating from the source material. Actor Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards ...
, who has voiced the Joker in animation and video games since '' Batman: The Animated Series'', thought the film had "brilliantly" reinvented the character and gave it " wothumbs up". '' Superman'' (1978) director Richard Donner
Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American filmmaker whose notable works included some of the most financially-successful films during the New Hollywood era. According to film historian ...
called the film "brilliant", "fascinating", "really well-written" and stated that Phoenix's performance was "genius". Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism.
Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ...
called ''Joker'' a "cinematic masterpiece" and stated it was a "danger to society" if people did not see it. Actor Josh Brolin
Joshua James Brolin (; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as '' The Goonies'' (1985), '' Mimic'' (1997), '' Hollow Man'' (2000), ''Grindhouse'' (2007), '' No Country for Old Men'' (2007), '' American Gan ...
found the film powerful: "To appreciate ''Joker'' I believe you have to have either gone through something traumatic in your lifetime (and I believe most of us have) or understand somewhere in your psyche what true compassion is". Actor Vincent D'Onofrio vocally commended Phoenix's performance in the film on Twitter, stating that he "deserve recognition for this performance", while actress Jessica Chastain agreed, replying: "It's one of the greatest pieces of acting I've ever seen". Actress and screenwriter Phoebe Waller-Bridge also praised the film, stating: "I think the reason people got so uncomfortable ith the film
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
is because it feels too true, too raw. I was watching it and thinking to myself, God, if this came out a year into Obama's time in office, I don't think we'd be feeling as worried about it". Filmmaker David Fincher
David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fi ...
said of the film's unexpected success, "Nobody would have thought they had a shot at a giant hit with ''Joker'' had ''The Dark Knight'' not been as massive as it was. I don't think anyone would have looked at that material and thought, 'Yeah, let's take 'Taxi Driver''s Travis Bickle and 'The King of Comedy''sRupert Pupkin and conflate them, then trap him in a betrayal of the mentally ill and trot it out for a billion dollars'". Actor Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor and film director. He is the recipient of three IFTA Awards, two British Independent Film Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award and has been nominated twice for a BAFTA Award and four times fo ...
felt that Phoenix's performance as the Joker was absolutely "indelible" and one of the most magnificent achievements in cinema he has ever seen, incidentally being that the reason he opted to join the film's sequel '' Joker: Folie à Deux'' (2024).
Accolades
Joaquin Phoenix's performance in the film won him multiple awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actor
The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The a ...
, a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.
Superlatives
Note ...
, a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama is a Golden Globe Award that was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951. Previously, there was a single award for "Best Actor in ...
and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.
''Joker'' won the Best Actor (Phoenix) and Best Original Score awards at the 92nd Academy Awards
The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 2019 and took place on February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:00 ...
. It received overall eleven nominations (including Best Picture
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
) from the ceremony, breaking the record of eight held by ''The Dark Knight
''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and the second instal ...
'' for the most nominations received by a film based on a comic book, comic strip or graphic novel
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
. Hildur Guðnadóttir
Hildur Ingveldardóttir Guðnadóttir (born 4 September 1982) is an Icelandic musician and composer. A classically trained cellist, she has played and recorded with the bands Pan Sonic, Throbbing Gristle, Múm, and Stórsveit Nix Noltes, and ...
also became the first woman to win an original score Oscar since ''The Full Monty
''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film ...
'' in 1998. At the 73rd British Academy Film Awards, the film won Best Actor in a Leading Role (Phoenix), Best Casting and Best Original Music out of a leading eleven nominations including Best Film. The film was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...
for the 77th ceremony, winning the awards for Best Original Score and Best Actor (Phoenix). The film was nominated for seven awards at the 25th Critics' Choice Awards, winning Best Actor (Phoenix) and Best Score and was included in the American Film Institute and Cahiers du Cinéma's top 10 films of 2019.
Having won an award at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards for Phoenix's performance, ''Joker'' also received nominations from other guilds including the Writers Guild of America Awards
The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949.
Eligibility
T ...
and the Producers Guild of America
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing establishment w ...
. It won a Best Period and/or Character Make-Up in a Feature-Length Motion Picture award from the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild
The Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild is an American labor union representing make-up artists and hair stylists in feature films, television programs, commercials, live network events and theatrical productions in the United States. The me ...
. An American production, the film won the Golden Lion at the 76th Venice International Film Festival.
Themes and analysis
''Joker'' deals with the themes of mental illness and its effects. While its depiction of the Joker has been described as reminiscent of those who commit mass shootings in the United States
Mass shootings are incidents involving multiple victims of firearm-related violence. Definitions vary, with no single, broadly accepted definition. One definition is an act of public firearm violence—excluding gang killings, domestic viole ...
as well as members of the incel community, Christina Newland of ''The Guardian'' concludes that Fleck is not an incel, but wrote that incels are likely to relate to him.[ Vejvoda, Hammond and Newland interpreted the film as a cautionary tale—society's disregard of those who are less fortunate will create a person like the Joker.] Stephen Kent, writing for the ''Washington Examiner
The ''Washington Examiner'' is an American conservative news outlet which consists principally of an online/digital website with a weekly magazine, based in Washington, D.C. It is owned by MediaDC, a subsidiary of Clarity Media Group, which is ...
'', described Arthur Fleck as blending shared aspects of mass shooters and interpreted its message as a reminder that society is riddled with men like the Joker. Writing in ''People's World
''People's World'', official successor to the '' Daily Worker'', is a Marxist and American leftist national daily online news publication. Founded by activists, socialists, communists, and those active in the labor movement in the early 1900s, t ...
'', Chauncey K. Robinson said the film "walks a fine line between exploration and validation" of Joker's character and is "ultimately an in-your-face examination of a broken system that creates its own monsters."
Some writers have expressed concern that ''Joker'' sympathetic portrayal of a homicidal maniac could inspire real-world violence. Richard Lawson of '' Vanity Fair'' found the film was too sympathetic towards "white men who commit heinous crimes" and that the sociopolitical ideologies represented in the film are "evils that are far more easily identifiable" to people "who shoot up schools and concerts and churches, who gun down the women and men they covet and envy, who let loose some spirit of anarchic animus upon the world—there's almost a woebegone
Lake Wobegon is a fictional town created by Garrison Keillor as the setting of the recurring segment "News from Lake Wobegon" for the radio program ''A Prairie Home Companion'' broadcast from St Paul, Minnesota. The fictional town serves as the s ...
mythos placed on them in the search for answers." Jim Geraghty of ''National Review
''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...
'' wrote he was "worried that a certain segment of America's angry, paranoid, emotionally unstable young men will watch Joaquin Phoenix descending into madness and a desire to get back at society by hurting as many people as possible and exclaim, 'finally, somebody understands me! Contrarily, Michael Shindler, reviewing the film in ''Mere Orthodoxy'', while agreeing that ''Joker'' depicts a sympathetic wish fulfillment fantasy, contends (drawing on insights from Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...
and Jacques Lacan) that it is for precisely that reason that the film will, if anything, preemptively quell real-world violence by rendering "the Flecks of the world into meek somnambulist
Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of low ...
s."
British neurocriminologist Adrian Raine
Adrian Raine (born 27 January 1954) is a British psychologist. He currently holds the chair of Richard Perry University Professor of Criminology & Psychiatry in the Department of Criminology of the School of Arts and Sciences and in the Departmen ...
was impressed by how accurate the film's depiction of the psychology of a murderer was. In an interview with ''Vanity Fair'', he described it as "a great educational tool" and stated that he planned to present film clips during his classes. Psychiatrist Kamran Ahmed highlighted the factors in Arthur's childhood such as parental abuse and loss and family history of mental illness in the genesis of his condition. American psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their ...
Imani Walker, who is known for her Bravo television series ''Married to Medicine Los Angeles'' and working with violent criminals with mental disorders
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...
, analyzed the Joker's apparent mental disorders and circumstances and noted that Arthur tries to find help before his downfall, only to be abandoned. She says of Arthur and others in poverty who have mental illness: "We as a society don't even pretend that they're real people and that's what this movie is about. He never had a chance." Forensic psychiatrist Ziv Cohen criticized the film as misrepresenting the mentally ill as violent. He argued the film conflates psychopathy (a lack of conscience) with mental illness, thereby creating a false impression of the mentally ill as dangerous.
Micah Uetricht, managing director of ''Jacobin
, logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg
, logo_size = 180px
, logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794)
, motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir)
, successor = P ...
'', opined in a review published by ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'' that he was shocked that the media did not understand the movie's message: "we got a fairly straightforward condemnation of American austerity
Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spendi ...
: how it leaves the vulnerable to suffer without the resources they need and the horrific consequences for the rest of society that can result"; Uetricht thus declares that ''Joker'' presents a world that has devolved into "barbarism
Barbarism, barbarity, or barbarous may refer to:
* Barbarism (linguistics), a non-standard word, expression, or pronunciation
** Hybrid words, formerly called "barbarisms"
* Any society construed as barbarian
** Barbarian invasions, a period of m ...
". Uetricht states that these themes are unsubtle to the extent that it was surprising that most media outlets had not identified them.[ Ahmed also highlights the lack of funding for already-stretched mental health services worldwide being alluded to.]
Cultural impact
During a Five Star Movement event in October 2019, Italian comedian and politician Beppe Grillo
Giuseppe Piero "Beppe" Grillo (; born 21 July 1948) is an Italian comedian, actor, blogger, and politician.
He has been involved in politics since 2009 as the co-founder (together with Gianroberto Casaleggio) of the Italian Five Star Movement ...
gave a speech wearing the Joker's makeup. Yusuke Kawai, the governor of Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the n ...
, appeared on NHK with a Joker costume in 2021. References to the character were also found in anti-government protests worldwide. During the 17 October Revolution, a group of graffiti artists called Ashekm painted a mural of the Joker holding a Molotov cocktail and it was also reported that there was a Joker facepaint station at the protests in Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
. In Los Ángeles, Chile
Los Ángeles () is the capital of the province of Bío Bío, in the commune of the same name, in Bío Bío, in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 186,671 inhabitants ( census 2012 ...
, during the 2019–2022 Chilean protests
The 2019–2022 Chilean protests, known in Chile as the ''Estallido Social'' (lit. ''social outburst''), are a series of massive demonstrations and severe riots that originated in Santiago and spread to all regions of Chile, with a greater impact ...
, the phrase "We are all clowns", which is adopted by Gotham City protesters in the movie, was written at the foot of a statue. In Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
, protesters challenged an emergency decree prohibiting the wearing of masks by wearing those of fictional characters such as the Joker. In France, during the Yellow Vest Protests
The Yellow Vests Protests or Yellow Jackets Protests or Yellow Vests Revolution (french: Mouvement des gilets jaunes, ) are a series of populist, grassroots weekly protests in France that began on 17 November 2018. At first the protestors advo ...
, firefighters donned Joker makeup holding placards. In 2020, during the George Floyd protests
The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internat ...
, Argentine president Alberto Fernández
Alberto Ángel Fernández (; born 2 April 1959) is an Argentine politician, lawyer and professor, serving as president of Argentina since 2019.
Born in Buenos Aires, Fernández attended the University of Buenos Aires, where he earned his law ...
compared the pictures of the protests to those seen in the film.
One of the locations seen in the film, a set of stairs in the Bronx, New York City, has been dubbed the Joker Stairs. The stairs have become a tourist destination and the subject of internet meme
An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
s, with visitors often reenacting the scene from the film in which Fleck dances down the stairs in his Joker attire. Ukrainian boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk ( uk, Олекса́ндр Олекса́ндрович У́сик; born 17 January 1987) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the unified ...
wore a suit resembling that of Joker in a pre-fight press conference leading up to his fight with Anthony Joshua.
Sequel
While ''Joker'' was intended to be a standalone film with no sequels, Warner Bros. Entertainment also intended for it to launch a new franchise named DC Black, which would include DC Comics-based films unrelated to the DCEU with darker and more experimental material. In August 2019, Phillips stated that he would be interested in making a sequel, depending on the film's performance and Phoenix's interest. He stated that the movie was pitched as standalone, "one movie, and that's it." In October 2019, Phoenix stated in an interview, "I can't stop thinking about it...if there's something else we can do with Joker that might be interesting," and concluded, "It's nothing that I really wanted to do prior to working on this movie. I don't know that there is ore to do
Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...
..Because it seemed endless, the possibilities of where we can go with the character."
In November 2019, ''The Hollywood Reporter'' announced that a sequel was in development, though this was later disputed by ''Deadline Hollywood''. Phillips responded to these reports, by saying that there were discussions with Warner Bros. for a sequel, but that it was not currently in development. He later clarified that despite ongoing rumors, the then-upcoming Matt Reeves-directed film centered around Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...
was not related to ''Joker''. Later, he expressed interest in a potential spin-off film centered around Batman in his ''Jokers universe, stating: "What I would like to see someone tackle is what Batman looks like from that Gotham. I'm not saying I'm going to do that."
In May 2021, it was stated that a ''Joker'' sequel was in development. Later that month, Phillips had entered negotiations to serve as a screenwriter. In January 2022, Willem Dafoe
Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for four Academy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, ...
expressed interest in appearing in the sequel. By June, the sequel was officially confirmed to be in development with Phillips serving as director with a script he co-wrote with Silver. The working title of the project was revealed to be ''Joker: Folie à Deux''. Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
reportedly was in negotiations to star alongside Phoenix as Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker in '' Batman: The Animated Series'', and debuted in it ...
and it was also reported that the film would be a movie musical. Phoenix's salary, as a result of the first film's commercial success, increased from $4.5 million to $20 million for the sequel. On August 3, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that the film will be released on October 4, 2024. Gaga confirmed the next day that she would star in it. Shortly after, Beetz was in negotiations to reprise her role as Sophie Dumond in the sequel. She was confirmed on September 1, 2022, alongside Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor and film director. He is the recipient of three IFTA Awards, two British Independent Film Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award and has been nominated twice for a BAFTA Award and four times fo ...
. On September 7 and September 13 respectively, Catherine Keener and Jacob Lofland were cast in undisclosed roles. On October 20, '' Industry'' actor Harry Lawtey
Harry James C. Lawtey (born 1996) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Robert Spearing in the BBC Two and HBO series ''Industry'' (2020–present).
Early life
Lawtey was born in Oxford to Northern parents while his father, an aircr ...
was reported by ''Deadline Hollywood
''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, w ...
'' to have been cast in what was described to be a "big role" in the film.
On December 10, 2022, production began, with Phillips releasing a first look of Phoenix's reprisal as the Joker on his Instagram account.
See also
* ''The People's Joker
''The People's Joker'' is a 2022 American queer coming-of-age parody superhero film directed by Vera Drew, and written by Drew and Bri LeRose. The movie premiered on September 13, 2022, at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, but planned ...
'': A 2022 parody film inspired by ''Joker'' and other DC characters, self-described as "an illegal queer coming of age comic book movie
A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...
".
Notes
References
External links
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Lady Gaga starring in Joker sequel
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Official screenplay
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