Joker Review : Compelling performance from Phoenix with visionary direction by Phillips.

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Pushing the corners of his mouth upwards into the shape of a smile, whilst watching a single tear fall down his cheek, Arthur Fleck stares at himself in the mirror. The perfect metaphor for depression.

Director: Todd Phillips. Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Nero, Zazie Beats, Frances Conroy. Cert Rating : 15. Running Time : 118 minutes.

Todd Phillips made Joker care about financial inequality, a failing capitalist state, and mental illness. Whilst Joaquin Phoenix brought him to life. A huge step from the 2008 'The Dark Knight' in which the late Heath Ledger’s Joker was simply Batman’s nemesis. Todd Phillip’s version pays no homage to DC comic books or the previous films, and instead the inspiration for Joker originated from Martin Scorsase’s 'Taxi Driver'. Travis Bickle’s personality is visible in Arthur, and Gotham City becomes a parallel for the same run-down New York portrayed in the 1976 classic.

The film has a dark gothic tone. Gotham is descending into chaos and civil unrest leads to riots in the streets. This whole process is depicted step by step in the movie. It starts off small, but within the 2 hour long film, escalates into riots. At the same time, the audience is able to watch Arthur Fleck gradually transform from a victim of society and a product of inequality, into his true form - Joker.

The scene that represented a complete transformation came when Fleck danced his way down the stairs to Gary Glitter’s ‘Rock and Roll part 2’, a poor choice of song by Phillips due to the nature of Glitter’s reputation. However, what ends up saving this scene is the change into Hildur Guðnadóttir’s ‘Call Me Joker.’. The eerie score helps represent this pinnacle moment in the film, Arthur becoming Joker.

This latest rendition will take your view on Joker and twist it completely. He becomes more humanised in our eyes. ‘I just hope my life makes more cents than my death.’, he writes in his diary. You will find yourself rooting for him, cringing when his comedy fails, and wincing when he gets beaten up. Phillips has truly made his mark on the film world.