However, there’s no denying his unbending passion for the film. Todd Phillips recently did a video with Vanity Fair in which he breaks down the brilliant opening scene of the movie. Just to give you a quick description of the film’s opening scene, here’s what I wrote in my review: In the video below, Todd Phillips breaks down these opening sequences: He chases. He’s then beaten up by those kids in a dingy alley. The sounds of the piano are heard no more, replaced by a synth score that invokes a sense of sorrow. As he lays on the ground in pain, with tears flowing down his eyes, in the middle of black garbage bags and overflowing trash cans, wondering why life keeps screwing him in the ass, the camera gently, like a ballerina on her tippy toes, pulls back and the words JOKER occupies the entirety of the screen. In the 12 minute video, Phillips talks about the tone of the film, among many aspects.
“Everything in the movie is meant to be unsettling. So anytime we move the camera…it’s meant to give off this unsettling vibe of this guy who’s pretty much separated from everybody else. Even in this locker room space, you hear the voices of four or five guys over here who’s playing cards and talking about whatever. And Arthur’s here alone, not part of the group figuring out how to keep a smile on his face. And one of the themes in the film is smile and the idea of putting on a happy face. His mother told him that he was born to bring joy and laughter — it’s something that Arthur wrestles with throughout the movie. So in this scene as we find him pulling up his mouth and pulling down his mouth, sort of fighting the comedy-tragedy that is his life.” There’s a lot more insight in the video so do give it a watch. Also, click here to check out my review of Joker, the best film of 2019 so far.
