It looks like Joaquin Phoenix is about to give the late Heath Ledger and veteran actor Jack Nicholson a run for their money as he expertly takes on the helm to play one of the best comic book supervillains ever to grace the silver screen.
And judging from the overwhelmingly positive reception the film and Phoenix’s performance received at a recent international film festival, he’s well on his way to steal the top spot.
Off to a great start
After premiering at the Venice Film Festival in advance of its wider release, director Todd Philips’ ‘Joker’ received an eight-minute long standing ovation at the prestigious festival. Now, that’s a great start, no doubt about that.
Standing ovations themselves are only given with truly great pieces of cinematic achievement. We can only imagine what would warrant eight minutes of applause from some of the most distinguished people in the industry.
But praise for the film didn’t stop there. It’s already been dubbed by critics as a ‘masterpiece,’ and one even described it as the
“most terrifying one yet”
according to a report from UNILAD.
It seems that it was Phoenix’s performance and Philips’ direction that received the most praise during the film’s festival run. In another screening in Venice, the audience reportedly erupted in applause when the main actor’s name appeared at the end of the film.
Critically acclaimed
But perhaps the most telling sign that ‘Joker’ is a must-watch is the fact that it won the coveted Golden Lion Award, the highest honor given out by the same Italian film festival. This also cemented the film’s chances at other prestigious awards for the rest of the year’s awards season.
Other Golden Lion Award winners such as the films ‘Roma’ and ‘The Shape of Water’ later on bagged further awards with the latter even nabbing the Best Picture award at the 90th Academy Awards.
Meanwhile, American-German actress Zazie Beetz, who co-stars in the film, was also present at the festival. However, Robert De Niro was not present. The veteran actor portrays a talk show host influential in the Joker’s descent into a life of crime.
Origin story
The anticipated film is set to premiere in cinemas worldwide this coming October 4th.
While the Joker has often been featured in films, this new reincarnation is said to be the first one to actually focus solely on the character’s backstory. ‘Joker’ is a standalone feature and is going to be separate from DC’s Extended Universe.
Here, we see Phoenix play Arthur Fleck, a stand-up comedian who would eventually become the Joker after failing to succeed in his career. After an encounter with thugs on the streets of Gotham in the early 1980s, he would descend into madness and emerge as a criminal mastermind out to wreak havoc in the city.
Because of its nature, the film’s director actually had trouble convincing executives to even fund the project.
Judging from the acclaim and hype it’s received even before it hit the cinemas, Philips definitely made the right call choosing to fight for his film.
Watch the trailer to see a glimpse of what you can expect from the critically acclaimed origin story:
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
