A failed comedian in a decaying Gotham City goes through one humiliation and trauma after another. Eventually, the act he puts on for other people falls apart completely, and he becomes a famous symbol of chaos. It's a character study that asks whether the monster was made or was always waiting inside him.
Joker is a 2019 crime, drama and thriller film directed by Todd Phillips. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (1 cinematography and 3 narrative), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Welcome to Marwen uses several of the same techniques.
Copying the camera choices, look and tone of a famous filmmaker or film tradition on purpose. It is an open homage that invites comparison and makes your knowledge of film history part of the meaning.
How this film uses it
Cinematographer Lawrence Sher and Phillips shoot Joker as a deliberate echo of Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. You get the same rain-soaked New York streets and the same lonely main character, framed from the waist up against the city. You also get the same doubt about what is real and what is fantasy. The echoes tell you Arthur's story belongs in that family of films.
Where to see it
Arthur walking the streets of Gotham. The framing and lighting are a direct callback to Travis Bickle's New York.
Returning to the same physical object again and again until it means more than what it is. It moves the plot and also stands for the film's main ideas.
How this film uses it
In the first half, Arthur keeps climbing the same stairs, defeated. After he transforms, he dances down them. The staircase works like a scale for his state of mind. Up means the world's demands and down means freedom from them, so the direction he moves tells you how he is doing.
Where to see it
The dancing descent. Arthur goes down the stairs as the Joker, the same stairs he climbed as Arthur Fleck.
Showing scenes as real that later turn out to be the main character's fantasy. It happens throughout the film, so the line between what they live and what they imagine never settles.
How this film uses it
The relationship with Sophie turns out to be entirely in Arthur's head. Scenes you watched as real events are revealed as things he made up. Phillips never announces that you can't trust what Arthur sees. He just leaves enough visual doubt that a careful viewer can spot the cracks before the reveal.
Where to see it
The Sophie revelation. Arthur walks into her apartment and she asks him to leave. The relationship never existed.
Showing a character's inner change through their body: weight, posture, movement, injury or recovery. The body becomes a visible record of what happened to them and what it cost.
How this film uses it
Joaquin Phoenix lost 52 pounds for the role, and his body tells Arthur's story on its own, apart from the script. You see the starved frame, the awkward laughter and the way he folds himself into corners. You also see his body change as the Joker comes out. Together, they add up to a second story told in flesh.
Where to see it
Arthur's dance in the bathroom. His body finds joy and freedom for the first time.
Questions
Joker: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does Joker use?
CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in Joker (2019): Scorsese Visual Citation, Symbolic Object, Unreliable Protagonist Vision and Physical Transformation as Arc.
Who directed Joker?
Todd Phillips directed Joker, released in 2019. CineCode also covers The Hangover (2009).
What films are similar to Joker?
Films that share techniques with Joker include Welcome to Marwen (2018), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Léon: The Professional (1994), Django Unchained (2012).
Is there a video breakdown of Joker?
Yes. There is a short video breakdown of Joker on the CineCode YouTube channel, embedded on this page.
