Joker Review: 9 Ups & 3 Downs

8. The Disturbing Tone Shifts

Usually when movies come under scrutiny and the question of tone comes about, you're usually invited to believe that consistency is key. That when there's a sudden, unexpected key change or sequences feel alien, it's not really a good thing.

For Joker, that is very much not the case. Perhaps because of Todd Phillips' background, this is a pitch black comedy at times as well as an intense character portrait and a balls-out creepy drama. When all of those elements converge feels like an expression of Arthur Fleck's own make-up rather than a director losing his grip on what he's trying to say.

It's all very disquieting and it's a wonderful, somewhat haunting experience to wonder whether your reaction to a scene should really have been what it was. That's rare.