Insanity looms inwards for Joaquin Phoenix in ‘Joker’
Joker is far and away one of this year’s most anticipated releases and know we’ve got a fresh new look at Joaquin Phoenix and his transformation into a homicidal freak.
A host of new images have now been released showing this transformation in the lead up to Joker’s world premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival, and they’re promising all kinds of chaos as an ordinary man falls down the rabbit hole of madness and becomes the Joker.
Highlighting the intense loneliness and anguish that failed comedian Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) feels for himself, these new images show him at his most vulnerable and chart his transformation into the maniacal Clown Prince of Crime.
Early buzz has already indicated that Joker is going to be far darker than The Dark Knight, and that there is an incredible buzz building for the film’s release and this could lead it to awards season glory.
Director Todd Phillips has really taken a different path with this film, and the result looks like a savage and dark psychological thriller that will take audiences into the very depths of madness. In crafting his film, Phillips has listed titles such as Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, Mean Streets and The King of Comedy as his primary influences, and with all of the images and promotional materials we’ve seen so far it’s easy to see the visual and tonal influence here.
Joining Phoenix in the film are Zazie Beetz as Sophie Dumond, a cynical single mother and Arthur’s love interest, Robert DeNiro as talk show host Murray Franklin who plays a part in Arthur’s downfall, Frances Conroy as Penny Fleck, Arthur’s controlling mother and Brett Cullen as Thomas Wayne, a billionaire philanthropist running for mayor of Gotham, and whom will be less sympathetic than in previous incarnations.
Joker should prove to be one very scary ride into the very depths of madness when it arrives in cinemas on October 3.
Image: Roadshow Films
