Joker (2019 film)

Some men just wanna watch the world burn.

"For my whole life, I didn’t know if I even really existed. But I do, and people are starting to notice."

—Arthur Fleck

Joker is a 2019 American Psychological Thriller film directed by Todd Phillips, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Silver. The film, based on DC Comics characters, stars Joaquin Phoenix as The Joker. An origin story set in 1981, the film follows Arthur Fleck, a failed stand-up comedian who turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City.

Joker is heavily inspired by Martin Scorsese films such as Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. It is the first live-action theatrical Batman film to receive an R-rating due to its violent and disturbing content.

It was the first R-rated comic book film to make a billion dollars at the box office and the film won several awards including Best Actor for Phoenix, making him the second actor to win an Academy Award for playing the Joker, following Heath Ledger.

As of 2020 a sequel written by Phillips is in development.

WARNING! There are unmarked Spoilers ahead. Beware.

Tropes used in Joker include:

Actor Allusion / Casting Gag: Robert De Niro plays a talk show host with an obsessive fan who violently confronts him in the film, the opposite of his role in The King of Comedy, where he played a disturbing individual who stalks the talk show host he not only fanboys over but wants to be like.
Ascended Meme: Arthur/Joker blames his actions on "a society" during his appearance on Murray Franklin's talk show. This drew comparisons to the "we live in a society" Joker memes.
Because You Were Nice to Me: Arthur spares Gary because of this reason.
Black Comedy:
- After Randall's murder, a traumatized Gary, when attempting to leave Arthur's apartment, can't reach the chain-lock because he's too short.
- On Murray's show, Joker makes a dark Knock-Knock Joke:

Joker: Knock knock.
Murray: Who's there?
Joker: It's the police, ma'am! Your son's been hit by a drunk driver. He's dead!

Boom! Headshot!: Joker shoots Murray in the head on live TV.
Cain and Abel: After Arthur's mother tells him that the adoption was a ploy and he really is the son of Thomas Wayne, making him the defacto brother of Bruce Wayne, also known as Batman.
Crapsack World: Gotham city's portrayal in the movie could be considered as one of its darkest one to date. The city is overflowing with garbage to such a degree that it has spawned an invasion of 'Super Rats', the Town Hall is striking social welfare programs down, and the resentment of the downtrodden against the higher classes of the city grows as the movie goes on.
Downer Beginning: The first scene of the film is Arthur smiling in great pain. The second has street kids stealing his sign and beating him up in an alleyway.
Foregone Conclusion: Anyone could figure out from the premise and Thomas Wayne's presence that Arthur would turn into a super-villain, and Thomas and his wife would die so his son becomes motivated to become a vigilante.
Hero Antagonist: Thomas Wayne and Murray Franklin are eventually seen with contempt by Arthur, but are at worst jerks appalled by his actions that never do something overtly villainous at all.
Sanity Slippage: Arthur's sanity deteriorates after the incident at the train. The revelation that he was adopted, and that his mother, the one person he loved, let his boyfriend beat him up when he was a child, suffering from head injuries that could possibly be the source of his mental issues, is enough to shatter what's left of his sanity, prompting him to become the Joker.
The Stoic: Bruce Wayne is this. All the time. In this universe, his parents' death was not what made him a pretty emotionless person.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Though he certainly would be pleased by the news, Arthur had no idea that the social movement he unwittingly inspired would lead to Thomas and Martha Wayne being shot dead.