The new Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix, released on October 4, is a dark origin story about how the Joker became Batman’s most famous enemy.

The main character of the film, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), is a middle-aged man who has been cast out by society.  He works for a company as a clown for parties, and is constantly getting bullied and degraded by “the privileged of Gotham City.” He begins to slowly fall into madness, becoming the Joker as a way to cope with all of the problems and lies that his life has held.

The movie is very dark and contains many sad scenes. I thought it was a great film, although it was slow in some parts (with an origin story, that’s what you expect!).  The storyline is very engaging, and features an appearance by Robert DeNiro as a character who epitomizes what the Joker really wanted to be. Phoenix’s 2019 Joker character is very different from the villain played last time around by Heath Ledger, falling more in line with Jack Nicholson’s portrayal in the 1980s. The costuming hints all the way back to Cesar Romero’s portrayal of the Joker back in the Batman television series. 

While I wouldn’t recommend it for young children, I thought this was an amazing movie and I recommend that you see it.