Joker Trailer Review: 9 Ups & 1 Down
5. It's Almost Like A Body Horror
If you're looking for your film school cheat sheet of themes in Joker, it'll definitely include isolation, the pressures of adversity and transformation above all else. The story will effectively be the cocoon in which an unstable but safe man is pushed to the limits by a terrible series of events (the death of his mother, social injustice, his own ostracisation, the death of his performing dreams... all of that and more) and he's going to emerge as a beautiful, weird butterfly at the end.
The transformation from Flack to Joker is the most compelling part of that entire story and it's not just a matter of why it happens but also how. And by the look of some of the scenes, we're almost going to be getting a body horror type aesthetic as Phoenix's physical performance heavily emphasises the transition of his character into darkness.
Seeing Phoenix emaciated and twisted is horrifying in itself and that visceral impact is testament to how great he is and how inspired a choice he is as the character.