A couple weeks ago, Warner Bros. released the latest DC Comics movie about the most infamous Batman villain, Joker. This movie is not for the faint at heart, nor is it for the faint stomach. It’s rated R, and that’s for good reason, folks. I would not recommend this movie for your 2 year olds, or probably even your mature 11 year olds. Before I delve deeper, I would highly recommend you leave if you have not seen the story of Penny Fleck and her son. There may be spoilers ahead. You have been warned. 

This movie is not a Joker vs Batman flick. Heck, Batman hasn’t even been thought of when this movie is set. In fact, Bruce’s parents are still alive for most of it. Joker focuses on its namesake, and what created the psychotic laugh-machine we know him as. This movie humanizes what we all hoped couldn’t be humanized. It shows how easy it is for someone to hit that breaking point, where there is no return to sanity. This movie shows how treating others can truly affect a person, and how mental illnesses should be treated just like something physical. 

Joker primarily focuses on the fall of Arthur’s sanity. So many terrible things happen to him in such a short amount of time, and his already unstable mental state just can’t handle it. He was tired of the bullying, the physical torment, and all of the jokes. He snapped. As said by Mark Hamill’s Joker, “All it takes is one bad day. One bad day and everything changes.”

As I said earlier, you better have a tough skin when you see this movie. It dives into the realms of insanity, and humanizes a very inhuman character many people have known since the 1989 Batman, where the Joker was played by the very talented Jack Nicholson. Some have known him since  the 1966 Batman TV series, where the original Joker is played by Ceasar Romero. Maybe you didn’t know these Jokers, but you do know the Academy Award-winning role of Heath Ledger. No matter what, this movie is fantastic. It also gives you a lot to think about after watching.