Joker - Clown Jewel...

There’s a case to be made that the Joker didn’t need a definitive on-screen origin story, but two hours spent in the company of Joaquin Phoenix’s clown prince is guaranteed to put a (nervous) smile on your face.

- Jordan Farley

Going to deeper, darker and more disturbing places than any comic-book movie to date, Joker isn’t just a captivating character study, it’s a superhero – or should that be a supervillain? – movie like no other.

Radically different from contemporary comic-book cinema structurally, tonally and morally, Joker has more in common with Taxi Driver and The King Of Comedy than it does with Avengers Assemble or The Dark Knight. On multiple levels, it’s the most challenging, subversive and nihilistic comic-book movie ever made. Needless to say, pint-sized Bat-fans should steer clear.

We’re first introduced to Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) applying make-up in preparation for his day job as a clown-for-hire, his face contorted into a horrific half-smile, half-cry grimace – the result of a neurological condition that causes involuntary, pathological laughter. Arthur’s therapist is providing little relief, and that’s before the practice is shuttered. Living in a shabby apartment block with his infirm mum, and getting nowhere as a stand-up comedian, Arthur is habitually treated with contempt or outright hostility. But his life only truly starts to spiral after a violent encounter on a subway car kickstarts a terrifying transformation.

SICK CITY