Phoenix’s integrity, his refusal to say
anything that isn’t 100 per cent honest, carries
through to his performances. You don’t get
one without the other. And his work in Joker
is transfixing, says Phillips. “He’s unsettlingin
the movie. The movie is unsettling, and Ithin
that’s a great thing. The Joker movie should
be unsettling.” It will, naturally, be rated R
inAmerica.“Idon’tthinkyoucaneven
smokecigarettesinPG-13moviesanymore,”
laughsPhillips.“Thisguysmokesmorethan
HumphreyBogart.”
Forallthefilm’sreality,it is rootedin
itscharacter’slegacy.Theaimis topresent
“averyclear-cutinterpretationofJoker’sorig
story”,saysPhillips.Still,hewantstoclarify
thatthisis notyourregulargenreflick,letalo
a superheroextravaganza.“Thisis notanacti
movie,”hesays,callingthefilma slow-burn.
“Thisis a characterstudyabouta guyonthe
brink.”Anddespitetheheritage,theprior
concernis honouringthistake.Decadesofother
interpretationscouldnotdistractthem.“It’sits
ownfictionalstory,”saysPhoenix.“Ofcourse
therearesuchfansofthecomics,soeveryonce
ina whilethatthoughtprocesswillcreepin.But
youjusthavetosay,‘We’renotdoingthat,we’re
doingthis.’”
ForCooper,thefilmperfectlystraddlesboth
worlds.“Themovie’sutterlyrealandbelievable,”
hesays,“butasyou’rewatchingit,you’reaware
ofthemythologyofwhatyou’rewatching,and
that’sa veryhardthingtopulloff.Toddwasable
towalkthelineofboththingsthroughoutthe
entirefilm.Attheveryendyou’reverypleased
withwhereyouendup.”UDGINGFROMTHE
footagePhillipsscreens
toEmpire, thefilm
deliverseverything
we’vebeendiscussing.
It is intense,intimatelyso,
andgorgeous—andodd.
AsceneinvolvingArthurdancingonhisown,
toHildurGuðnadóttir’sdisquieting,cello-heavy
score,is particularlydisconcerting.It was
improvisedbyPhoenixontheday.Phillips
getslostinit.“Ijustlovewatchinghim,”he
says,beforesnappingoutofit.“Idon’tknow
howtheFast& Furiouscrowdaregonnatake
that!”helaughs.“Interpretivedance.”It does
feelbeautiful.“Yeah,it’llbeinterestingto
seehowpeoplereacttothisfilm.It’sbonkers,
I’lltellyouthatmuch.”
Phoenixis justastakenwiththework
they’vedone.“Theprocesswasoneofthe
mostgratifyingI’veeverhadinmycareer,”
hesays.It surpassesthevaguenotionhehad
a fewyearsagotodosomethinginterestingwith
a comic-bookcharacter.“Icouldneverhave
imaginedanythingthiscool,”headmits.This
filmmightjustbea littlemiracle.JOKERISINCINEMASFROM3 OCTOBERBelow, top
to bottom:
A raging Ronald
McDonald just
out of shot;
Fleck is a failed
stand-up. Hard to
see why...;
An extreme
approach to
securing a seat.
HE WAS A GANGSTER
The Joker’s first origin story was by his
co-creator Bill Finger, in Detective Comics
#168, in 1951. Here, he was a lab worker
turned criminal called the Red Hood, who
escapes Batman by jumping into a vat of
chemicals, leading to his disfigurement.
HE WAS A STAND-UP COMIC
In Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke (1988) he
is once more the Red Hood, but this time a
failed comedian. The Joker himself, though,
says this might be BS: “If I’m going to have
a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!”HE KILLED BATMAN’S PARENTS
In Tim Burton’s Batman (1989), Joker
again resurrects after falling into chemicals
due to the Caped Crusader, but, more
egregiously, this guy, named Jack Napier,
is also said to have killed Bruce Wayne’s
parents.HE WAS ALWAYS
A WRONG’UN
In 2010’s The Atom And The Joker comic-
book story we’re told the Joker was always
a violent psychopath: as a kid he locked his
family inside their house and set it
on fire after they found his collection
of animal skeletons.HE IS A CENTURIES-OLD
UNKILLABLE DEMON
In DC’s 2014 Endgame arc, we learn that
he’s an eternal, immortal demon who’s been
around forever. Unless he’s faking his own
mythology to mess with Batman’s head.HE WAS THE VICTIM OF
CHILDHOOD ABUSE
In a 2009 panel about the Joker, TV’s
original Batman Adam West said he’d
“reasoned that he was kidnapped by a
perverted clown when he was a youngster.”n
kginone
ionTHE JOKER HAS NEVER HAD A
DEFINITIVE CANONICAL ORIGIN —
TODD PHILLIPS’ FILM IS ONE OF
MANY SIDEWAYS SPINS↓