As a villain origin movie, this movie does not have any entertainment brought by superhero movies, but it is so real that people feel their hairs stand on end and their hearts are full of fear, which also completely separates this movie from the familiar comic movies differentiate. Even Nolan's "Dark Knight" series, even if it is realistic, still focuses on entertainment, and has never reached such a dark level.
"Joker" is a comic book movie, but it is definitely not an ordinary superhero blockbuster. The characters and background are drawn from DC's Batman comics, but the film is more of a study and analysis of psychopaths. Many murderers in real-life shooting cases have mental disorders. What are the reasons for these disorders? What forced them to go on a killing spree? It is exactly what this film is about to tell, and it is also where "Joker" is different from other comic books.
Today, when terrorist attacks and shootings are so frequent, the reasons behind it are worth thinking about and paying attention to, but because of taking care of the emotions of the deceased, such real tragedies are often full of challenges when they are brought to the screen. As a classic villain in comics, the origin story of "Joker" just reflects the main reason why many such mentally ill patients become social hidden dangers. It is very suitable as a study on the psychology of criminals to dig deeper social problems behind it.
Many people who commit suicide or take drugs and become homeless on the streets are actually mentally ill, but they have not been treated. It can be seen from this film that people with mental disorders, if they have no money for treatment and do not receive timely and effective help, may evolve into crazy criminals under the stimulation of many factors, reminding people that they need to pay more attention to low income. Mental health and medical protection of the population.
"Joker" absolutely breaks the conventions of comics, and does not hesitate to use intuitive violence, blood, and uncomfortable pictures to truly present the birth of a classic criminal. Let people tired of watching formulaic superhero movies finally feel a new breakthrough, so they are deeply loved by the media, suitable for film festivals and awards season, and more suitable for people who like serious crime movies. Wakun Phoenix's superb performance further allows people to experience the character's pain and struggle, and develop a certain degree of understanding and sympathy for his evolution. This is a very scary performance, and the effect is no less than a horror movie. Guaranteed to keep his laughter in your head long after you've walked out of the theater.
But it should be noted that this film is not separated from the DC universe, it does not exist independently from the Batman story. Although some changes have been made to the background of the Joker in the comics, which has strengthened the logic of the story and is of great help to the character creation, it has not laid the groundwork for future Batman movies, and it can be said to be a successful Batman movie prequel. For the first time, people understand what happened in the crime-prone city where Batman was born.
Of course, some media believe that the film may provoke more people to seek violent ways to vent their dissatisfaction with the society and lead to more crimes. This kind of worry is not completely unnecessary. After all, someone dressed as a clown shot and killed 12 people in theaters over the opening weekend of The Dark Knight Rises. The bloody case is in front of us, and it is impossible to avoid it without mentioning it. Therefore, even if the Venice Film Festival, which focuses on artistry, awarded the film the highest award, can "Joker" finally be favored at the Oscars, which pay more attention to social influence? I have reservations. The only certainty is that there is little doubt that Waquin Phoenix is nominated for Best Actor.
My only complaint is that a plot near the end of the film is a bit far-fetched to me, it happens for the sake of it, it's not very logical, but to avoid spoilers, I'll talk about it later.
Finally, if I have to compare, I still prefer the Joker in "The Dark Knight", the reason is that at that time he had already begun to enjoy being a criminal, got rid of the previous pain, and became more fun, and Nolan even gave He learned many classic lines from Heath Ledger's Joker, making him an antisocial philosopher with a sense of humor. The clown in this film is in the primary generation stage and is still immersed in infinite pain, which naturally brings pain to the audience.
(Toronto movie viewing)
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