You’ve seen the man behind the masquerade. Now you get to see just what Joaquin Phoenix’s nascent clown prince of crime will look like.
Joker director Todd Phillips has taken to Instagram to release the first camera test for Phoenix in character as Arthur Fleck, the man destined to become Batman’s most infamous nemesis. Set to the Guess Who’s “Laughing,” you get to see both a “normal” version of Arthur, as he slowly cracks a grim smile...before becoming a very Pagliacci-inspired Joker:
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This isn’t the first Joker-based Pagliacci influence we’ve seen, of course—but hey, that’s because it works. Joker is currently due to release October 4, 2019.
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DISCUSSION
One of the things that creeped me out (in a good way) about Heath Ledger’s Joker was the fact that he used actual paint. Not to dismiss the classic Joker, but the accident that bleaches his skin feels like it justifies/causes/triggers his madness, while the choice to use paint makes it an expression of the madness within that explodes, so I prefer it. What do you all think?