The Joker has been played multiple times by multiple people on the big screen. Heath Ledger won a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in The Dark Knight. Jack Nicholson’s Joker was probably the second best rendition of the character yet, completely over shadowing Michael Keaton’s Batman in Tim Burton’s 1989 classic movie.
And now we have Joaquin Phoenix playing the Joker in his very own movie directed by Todd Phillips. The movie debuted to resounding praise and applause at the Venice Film Festival. It was apparently so good that audience members gave it an eight-minute long standing ovation in Venice.
The movie follows the transformation of Arthur Fleck, a down on his luck entertainer and aspiring comic, into the Joker. Esquire wrote previously that in telling the story, filmmakers had “a lot of freedom because Joker never really had an origins story in the comics,” Phillips said.
“#JokerMovie is wild, gets eight-minute standing ovation at #VeniceFilmFestival.” In theaters October 4. pic.twitter.com/PfnUteeR1Q
— Joker Movie (@jokermovie) August 31, 2019
Here’s what the critics are saying on their personal Twitter feeds.
JOKER is a bold, bodacious love letter to Scorsese's #TheKingOfComedy, told through the lens of DC's most iconic villain. Dark, disturbing, brutal & sad, it's about an abused man who doesn't start living until he's dead inside. Joaquin Phoenix is so damn good#JokerMovie pic.twitter.com/WCk1Ya4FFG
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) August 31, 2019
I saw #Joker — and it is unlike anything before it. The movie is dark, thrilling, and chilling. An insane masterpiece.
The movie absolutely transcends being a comic book film and acts as a character study which, at times, will make audiences uncomfortable in wild ways. 10/10 pic.twitter.com/2B2mCkzbZy
— Brandon Davis (@BrandonDavisBD) August 31, 2019
Joker (2019)Reviews:
IGN: 10/10
Variety: 5/5
Hollywood Reporter (THR): 4.5/5
Empire Magazine: 10/10
Total Film Magazine: 10/10
Collider: 9/10
Forbes: 10/10
L.A Times: 4/5
Guardian: 5/5
Daily Telegraph (UK): 5/5#Joker #JokerMovie pic.twitter.com/YqWn2H1o4Z— Hedi (@berghain38) September 1, 2019
Warner Bros.’ movie is due out on October 4. Until then here’s the trailer:
