CMRS Awards: 2019 Movie of the Year

Before Marvel fans throw a fit, yes Avengers: Endgame is the best selling movie off all time. Yes, it was absolutely fantastic. However, Joker was a different beast all together. The appeal of Avengers: Endgame was the culmination of 10+ years of movie making. It puts the cap on movies that started all the way back in 2008 and spawned a whole shared universe, but Joker was something different.

With the DC property being a stand alone film it needs to be judged accordingly. It’s easy to place a movie that has so many loveable characters in it we’ve all grown to love, it’s easy to see why so many rushed to theaters to see it. Despite the overwhelming success, Joker wasn’t too far behind.

Not only was it one of the few DC properties to cross the billion dollar mark, it became the best selling R-rated film and the first one to hit $1 billion. Even with all the controversy that came with the film, it still couldn’t hold back the die-hard DC fans that wanted to see an origin story for DC’s greatest villain.

What makes Joker stand out above all other movies this year was the amazing role played by Joaquin Phoenix. As Arthur Fleck, we see the steady decline of a mentally disturbed misfit who’s at the mercy of the world around him and it drives him mad. The steady decline of Arthur as his world spirals more and more out of contol, is brilliantly complimented by the eccentric capabilities of Phoenix, it comes across as a masterpiece.

While most news outlets portrayed the movie as promoting violence and celebrating degenerates, nothing about the film makes you feel like celebrating Arthur Fleck. Joker instead weaves a web of instability that makes you question how well you treat the people around you. The fear that the movie would spawn copy-cats in the world of full of instability was running wild when the trailers started hitting. Now that the initial hype has died down, maybe more people can push for the film come awards season.

In the comic world, there’s not true origin for the Joker character, but Todd Phillips and the cast and crew make s strong case for their story. If not for an amazing performance by Phoenix, the movie may not have done so well. Luckily for fans, this is easily one of the best acted roles of this year’s movie run. If you haven’t seen Joker yet, it’s currently available on-demand.