Joker Movie Review: Villain or Misunderstood?

The Joker movie came to theaters last week and I decided to go check it out. Seeing the movie from beginning to end, it made me feel sorry for the Joker, played by Joaquin Phoenix. He was picked on, set up, lied to and even abused. How could you not feel sorry for the man.

For starters, in the beginning of the movie Joker, he was beat up on the job. (Trigger #1). Then he returns to work and his boss doesn’t believe him (Trigger #2). His co-worker gives him a gun at work, which will later be an issue. He sees a therapist, but she doesn’t really take in what he’s telling her (Trigger #3). Joker is beat up YET AGAIN, just for laughing hysterically at two guys. [Disclaimer: Joker has a laughing condition]. In order to defend himself, Joker kills the two guys [Trigger #4]. His coworker lies on him about giving him the gun (Trigger #5).  Joker wants to be a comedian, so he does stand-up and no one laughs. He catches the eye of a popular TV show host Murray Franklin, played by Robert De Niro, and is invited on the show.

In the midst of all this, Joker finds a letter that has him thinking that a well-known politician is his father. Once he finds out that the man is not his father, he also finds out that he’s adopted and his mother has been lying to him his whole life and even tried to harm him as a baby (Trigger #6). By the time he finds all this out, his mother is in the hospital recovering from a stroke. Joker goes to the extreme and kills his own mother.

Fast forward to Joker making an appearance on the Murray Franklin show. He admits to killing the two men and even calling out Murray for making fun of his stand-up act and that being the reason that he was invited on the show. Triggered once again, Joker kills Murray and causes an even bigger riot in the city. He was looked at as a hero for murdering the two men which was the original start of the city riots.

The point in all this is, you never know what people are going through and if someone seems like they are already suffering from a mental illness, it’s probably best not to trigger them. Joker had countless incidents, that made him want to snap and after so long…he did. It’s crazy how the villain in these movies are more sympathized with than the actual heroes. For example, Killmonger in Black Panther was looked at as an antagonizer more than an actual villain. He lost his father at a young age by his own uncle and had to grow up a struggle life vs his family who grew up royalty and all he wanted was his fair chance at king.

Joker was a man who suffered from mental health illnesses, being made fun of, lied on, talked down on and more. After so long, he justified his behavior. Should he had killed all those people? Absolutely not. Did he seeker proper health? Yes, he seen a therapist but eventually the office was closed down, so the help didn’t last long but it could’ve helped him long term. He felt ignored and even walked over; it’s a sad case. The moral of the story is, listen to people’s cry for help; everyone has triggers; and be kind to people, even the “crazy ones.”

What are your thoughts on the movie?