Warner Brothers released the final trailer today for Todd Phillips’ upcoming Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role. The film has its world at the Venice International Film Festival on August 31, while also screening at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9. It comes to theaters on October 4.
In 1981, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a failed stand-up comedian, turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City, slowly rising to become a frightening legend
When it’s all said and done, Joker might end up as the most heavily-scrutinized film of 2019. It has been garnering Oscar hype leading up to its release. But it has a lot going against it. Writer-director Todd Phillips’ history is in comedy. That’s not to say he’s incapable to taking on a film like this, just that there’s nothing in his past to prove that he can.
And could the subject matter turn many off to the movie? A mentally ill man turning to a life of crime and violence may feel all too real to potential moviegoers, given the tragedies the country has endured. Lastly, fair or not, Phoenix’s performance in Joker will no doubt draw comparisons to Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning turn in the role in 2008’s The Dark Knight. Given how strongly many fans revere Ledger’s Joker character, it could unfairly hurt the reception of Phoenix’s portrayal.
Whatever the result, there will surely be plenty of internet fodder created by Joker in the weeks and months to come.
Joker premieres at Venice Film Festival August 31 and will screen at TIFF and NYFF. It hits theaters on October 4, 2019.