I saw Joker...

"Joker", directed by Todd "The Hangover" Phillips, is DC/WB's latest, alternate retelling of the eponymous, mad clown and a live-action "Killing Joke" variant. It's a raw character study at heart and a damn effective one at that, with only one major drawback, which I'll detail soon enough. Even with this arguable blemish, "Joker" could set the standard for how DC movies now play.

Joaquin Phoenix is our new Clown Prince of Crime, aka Arthur Fleck. Per Phillips and Scott Silver's script, Fleck lives with his sickly mom (Frances Conroy), has a "girlfriend" (Zazie Beetz), a penchant for offbeat comedy and (contrary to what one might think) a big heart beneath his burgeoning rage. He also laughs maniacally whenever distressed. Like Michael Douglas' William Foster in "Falling Down", he hits his breaking point after a series of horrid missteps. The question is, how and when can he redeem himself and at what insane level?

Phoenix's progression from "good" to bad is an emotional one, and with minor nips and tucks (and a clear-cut, virtuous spin), the story could have deterred DC lore and traveled the "Gigot" and/or Rod Serling path, with emphasis on the hardships that too often come when one tries too hard or when one embraces eccentric inclinations.

Against the odds, our new Joker does, indeed, get his big break, but by that pivotal phase, the story has taken a sardonic turn as he prances onto a late-night stage, hosted by Robert De Niro's Murray Franklin, a knockoff of Jerry Lewis' Jerry Langford from Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy". 

And in this lies the retelling's drawback. Though De Niro holds an official "King of Comedy" link (as well as an influencing "Taxi Driver" one), he enters the scene with too much schismatic baggage and becomes more of a distraction than a clever allusion. (Jack Nicholson would have been better cast.) Alas, De Niro's external contention impedes upon Fleck's demonic, final descent, and let's face it, there comes a point when one must cease empathy for Fleck, if one is to accept him as Batman's renowned, criminal clown. 

Though there are sporadic hints and examples of Fleck's inevitable leap throughout the film, it never becomes full-blown until the climax. "Joker", in this respect, rolls the Batman theme in reverse, due in no small part to Brett "the Dark Knight Rises" Cullen's callous, though not entirely in-the-wrong Thomas Wayne.

As far as dark, character studies go, "Joker" is in casual step with Chris Nolan's Caped Crusader trilogy. Most would agree that the triad's serious style should have been sustained, no matter how successful the cheerful "Aquaman", "Wonder Woman" and "Shazam!" have been. 

Some say "Joker" is a shoe-in, Oscar winner, but even without that "prestige", the movie is destined to be remembered, though ironically more for its pathos than its villainous guffaws: not by any means a bad thing.  In truth, it's not at all far-fetched to perceive "Joker" reaching classic status someday. Considering the accolades that more than a few Batman movies have earned, that's saying a lot.