'Joker' Director Commentary Reveals a Big Story Spoiler
Todd Phillips is enjoying being at the top of a smoldering Gotham City after Joker set insane box office records. But his director's commentary proved there are still big reveals contained within the film's narrative.
The narrative behind the Joker was pretty insane. It was a hugely hyped film that people were genuinely afraid to see in theaters and whose plot people questioned as being morally reprehensible.
With all that free press and word of mouth, it's no wonder that it became one of the highest-grossing films of the year and the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time with a takeaway of $1,062,954,660.
Sheesh.
Recently, Todd Phillips sat down to cover his own retrospective on the movie and drop some truth bombs.
Let's dig deeper.
The 'Joker' Director Commentary Gives Big Reveal
The Joker: Vision & Fury, is a 22-minute behind-the-scenes featurette included on the home release special features. It's a fun and engaging behind the scenes glimpse into the world of Joker and the creative minds behind it.
There are lots of clips floating around of it online, but as of now, the only way to watch is via the purchase of the movie.
Upon watching it, there are lots of things I loved. From knowing that Joaquin Phoenix based his dance on the steps on "The Old Soft Shoe," to hearing how Bradley Cooper worked on the project as a producer.
But the most insane reveal came from Todd Phillips himself -- and it has to do with the character:
“There’s many ways to look at the movie. He might not be Joker...This is just a version of a Joker origin. It’s just the version this guy is telling in this room at a mental institution. I don’t know that he’s the most reliable narrator in the world, you know what I’m saying?”
Wait, what?
Could the entire film be the delusion or creation of someone else, like a St. Elsewhere situation?
This is an incredible thread that will surely get people talking.
Personally, I love this thought but I don't feel like it's truly represented in the film. If you're going to throw a switcheroo I'd love to see if paid off on screen and not in the commentary. But I also think this is a genius way to create sequels to the Joker movie without disturbing the plot or context of the original.
Phillips went on to expand this thought process, saying:
“I just love bad guys...It’s fun to say, ‘Why is he like that? What made him like that?’ And that’s ultimately the goal of the movie. It’s not this gigantic statement on the world today, and there is stuff thematically in there, but really, it’s ‘What makes somebody that way?’ And the Joker, I just liked his sense of mayhem and chaos.”
Well, now we're steeping in our own mayhem and chaos trying to figure out what's going on inside the Joker's universe.
I would expect DC to clarify the sequel and spinoff rumors moving forward. And this line of thinking to be directly involved with whatever they plan.
Joker is available to own on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on January 7th.
