With early word on Joker suggesting that DC Films has a critic-pleasing film on their hands, it’s not surprising to hear that the Joaquin Phoenix-led film is getting a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival.
As of right now, reception to Joker is largely positive, with 19 of the 22 reviews currently up on Rotten Tomatoes being labeled “Fresh” for an average of 86%. And such positive reception makes it unsurprising, then, that Joker would get applauded at the Venice International Film Festival where it premiered.
You can see a clip of the standing ovation below:
Massive ovation for #Joker at #Venezia76 pic.twitter.com/Poygwd7TI2
— Elsa Keslassy (@ElsaKeslassy) August 31, 2019
The film, which has no connections to DC’s shared universe of movies, serves as a homage to movies like Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, following a jaded, damaged protagonist as he slips down an increasingly criminal path. The movie exists in a much more grounded version of the standard Batman mythos, where there aren’t supervillains, but there are people who dress up like clowns and riot. Joaquin Phoenix’s performance has been especially praised as a unique take on the character that is able to work efficiently without Batman or other superheroes to counter him.
Here is the official synopsis for Joker:
Director Todd Phillips’ Joker centers around the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone fictional story not seen before on the big screen. Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck, who is indelibly portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, is of a man struggling to find his way in Gotham’s fractured society. A clown-for-hire by day, he aspires to be a stand-up comic at night…but finds the joke always seems to be on him. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty, Arthur makes one bad decision that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events in this gritty character study.
Directed by Todd Phillips from a script he co-wrote with Scott Silver, Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais, and Shea Whigham.
Joker will be released in theaters on October 4, 2019.
Source: Twitter
Check Out Every Image From Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘Joker’ Movie Here
Warner Bros.' upcoming standalone Joker film starring Joaquin Phoenix is just over six weeks away from hitting theaters so we've rounded up all of the film's official images showing off the next Clown Prince of Crime.
Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix is set to be an origin story. The gritty and grounded crime film directed by Todd Phillips (The Hangover) is set in 1980s Gotham City follows Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a failed 1980s comedian that becomes The Joker after he bombs with audiences. The film will serve as DC's first outing beyond its the current cinematic universe since it was launched by Zack Snyder in 2013 with Man of Steel in order to create new and unique storylines as the studio expands DC canon.
So far, Warner Bros. has released official images from the film featuring Joaquin Phoenix along with Robert De Niro who plays talk show host Murray Franklin, as well as Zazie Beetz' Sophie Dumond, who appears to be a love interest of Joaquin Phoenix's Joker in the film. You can check out all of the officially released stills from Joker in the gallery below!
Directed by Todd Phillips from a script he co-wrote with Scott Silver, the film stars Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais, and Shea Whigham.
“Joker” centers around the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone story not seen before on the big screen. Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck (Phoenix), a man disregarded by society, is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.
Joker will be released in theaters on October 4, 2019. Stay tuned to Heroic Hollywood for the latest news on Joaquin Phoenix, Joker, and the future of the DC slate as we learn it.
