Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Tuesday 1 OcTOber 2019
Happy now? Everyone

is talking about 'Joker'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — There it astounding, to be quite he said. "I don't feel like
may be no such thing as frank, how easily the far left they deserve any more of
bad publicity, but the spot- can sound like the far right that."
light on "Joker" is testing the when it suits their agenda," He also underwent a dras-
limits of that old cliche. Phillips said. "To that point, tic physical transformation,
The origin story about the I've been disappointed." losing 52 pounds on an ex-
classic Batman villain has The pre-emptive backlash tremely calorie-restricted
This Sept. 20, 2019 photo shows director Todd Phillips, left, and inspired pieces both in de- is all the more baffling to diet with the supervision
actor Joaquin Phoenix during a portrait session for the film "Jok- fense of and against the Phillips because he hopes of a doctor. He expected
er," at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. movie. It's been hailed as it inspires conversations: "feelings of dissatisfaction,
Associated Press the thing that's going to fi- About guns, about vio- hunger, a certain kind of
nally get Joaquin Phoenix lence and about the treat- vulnerability and a weak-
an Oscar and also decried ment of people with men- ness." Instead, he found the
for being "dangerous," ''irre- tal illness. emaciation led to a physi-
sponsible" and even "incel- "Part of the reason we cal "fluidity" that he didn't
friendly." Last week, some made the movie is a re- quite anticipate.
parents of victims of the sponse to the comic book The set was also fairly fluid in
2012 Aurora movie theater world of movies," Phillips a way, and Phoenix said he
shooting even wrote to said. "Like, 'Why is this cel- and Phillips were constantly
the Warner Bros. CEO ask- ebrated? Why is this funny? discovering new elements
ing for support for anti-gun Why is this fun? What are to Joker and Arthur.
causes. The studio issued a the real world implications "There seemed to be an
statement in response say- of violence?'" infinite number of ways to
ing that the film is not "an The film itself is a slow-burn interpret every moment or
endorsement of real-world character study of how a how he might behave in
violence of any kind." mentally-ill, middle-aged any moment. And there
In his 80 years as part of man named Arthur Fleck wasn't anything that didn't
the culture, the Joker has becomes the Joker. When make sense. So we would
always had a way of get- the audience drops in on do scenes so many differ-
ting under people's skin his life, he's working as a ent ways and some I would
— whether it's because clown-for-hire, living with cry and others I would make
of who the character ap- his mother in a run-down jokes and others I would be
peals to, what he repre- Gotham apartment and angry and it would be the
sents or even the stories checking in occasionally same scene and they all
actors tell about how they with a social worker. He (expletive) made sense,"
got into character. But per- has a card that he gives to he said.
haps the biggest irony of all people to explain that his It made the experience
this time around is that for spontaneous and painful constantly "exciting" and
all the discourse and hand- bursts of laughter are be- "surprising," but portraying
wringing, the film has yet to cause of a medical condi- Arthur/Joker also proved to
even open in theaters. That tion. His only joy seems to be "messy and uncomfort-
doesn't happen until Thurs- be watching the talk show able" for the 44-year-old
day night. host Murray Franklin (Rob- actor.
It's made for a complicat- ert De Niro) in the evenings. As for whether or not au-
ed release for the high-pro- "The truth is you see it and diences will use the char-
file film, which got off to a it's heartbreaking. And he's acter as an inspiration or
triumphant start premiering heartbreaking," Phillips said. excuse to act out, Phoenix
at and then winning the "And you know what hap- thinks that the onus is on
top award from the Ven- pens in the movies when the individual.
ice Film Festival. And while you have a world that lacks "I do think that the au-
reviews are mostly positive, empathy and lacks love? dience should be chal-
it's also been heavily scruti- You get the villain you de- lenged and they should
nized and put the filmmak- serve." be able to know the differ-
ers on the defensive. Direc- It's a role that has often re- ence between right and
tor and co-writer Todd Phil- quired actors to go to diffi- wrong. I don't think it's the
lips doesn't mind the discus- cult places, and "Joker" has filmmaker's responsibility to
sion. the added complication of teach morality," Phoenix
"I'll talk about it all day," he being more realistic than said. "If you don't know the
said. "I'm not shy about it." most of the other depic- difference between right
He just wishes people tions even though it's still set and wrong, then there are
would see the movie be- in a fictional world. To play all sorts of things that you
fore drawing conclusions. Arthur and Joker, Phoenix are going to interpret in the
"It's a little troubling when researched a number of way that you want."
people write think pieces people that he's reluctant Both he and Phillips make
without having seen it. And to even name. sure to stress that "Joker,"
even in their think pieces "Some of the people I stud- which is rated R, is not a
write, 'I don't need to see ied, I feel what they crave kids' movie. It also won't be
it to know what it is.' I find is attention and notoriety," for everyone.q