Joker Trailer Review: 9 Ups & 1 Down
3. Joaquin Phoenix's Restrained Performance
Whether you care to admit it or not, every performance of the Joker is beholden to two things. First, it has to connect in some way to the comics source material, obviously, but it also has to deal with the parallels to the last time someone played the Joker.
In this case, Joaquin Phoenix could have done a lot of weird sh*t as long as he steered clear of sending people used condoms, wearing a grill and being an actual juggalo and he would still have compared favourably to Jared Leto's version.
And let's be honest here, the material also lends itself to a ridiculous performance, but it appears that we're getting a portrait of comparative restraint. Sure, there's weirdness and there's flamboyance, but the key is going to be that the Joker is sympathetic here. Remember that quote from Alan Moore.
If his humanity was unrecognisable, this wouldn't be anywhere near as compelling.