10 Subtle Details That Make Joaquin Phoenix's Joker Incredible

7. He Doesn't Breathe

Obviously, Arthur DOES breathe throughout the movie, because he needs to - plus he visibly smokes and you need to inhale to do that - but there are moments where Joaquin Phoenix chose to heighten the intensity of a scene by not breathing.

The first most noticeable is when his social worker tells him that the service is being shut down and he won't be getting any kind of support or medication. He breaks into a pained smile, remembering what his mother told him about "putting on a happy face," but he is very visibly not breathing. It's disconcerting because he's clearly having an anxious episode - it might as well be a panic attack in fact - and that's usually coupled with hyperventilation. Arthur's training to suppress and look happy even as he's going through trauma though, means he even stops that.

The other time we see it most is when his mother's instruction to put on happy face comes full circle and he confronts her with the revelations of his past before killing her. As he takes the pillow and suffocates her, he holds his breath too, again almost as a means to not show his real feelings.