The Joker is a movie that will make viewers be comfortable being uncomfortable. The slow progression of Arthur Fleck, a comedian with mental health issues, losing his joy and happiness is truly disheartening. Arthur seems to be in bliss when going through life. No matter how much society treated him like dirt he would look at his life as a blessing.
If I only watched the beginning of the movie from Arthur’s perspective, I would have felt comfortable and maybe a little happy. However, seeing how oblivious he is to how society treats him, it’s hard to imagine he was truly happy. When everything in his life seems to be going great, viewers realize that Arthur basically created his own reality to make himself happy.
This all goes away when he loses his job and loses that bliss of making people happy. Now Arthur is angry at the world and everyone in it. This is where the movie turns dark. This isn’t the movie for those who don’t like seeing someone losing their mind and snapping at the world. The poor woman that was watching the movie next to me covered her eyes for about half of the movie.
Viewers can grasp how bad society can be when Arthur decides to change his name to “Joker” and lashes out on the world that treated him so poorly. It isn’t a movie where I can root for the bad guy, but I could understand where he is coming from. To enjoy this movie to the fullest, paying attention to detail is important. There are a lot “aha moments” and plenty of plot twists to look out for.
This movie isn’t for the faint of heart. There is a lot of scenes that deal with mental health and the cruelty of the world. I highly recommend everyone go see this movie and be uncomfortable. This movie can open people’s eyes to the harshness of the world and maybe influence some to have more compassion for those who deal with battles in life that most people don’t see.