Reality or Fiction? How to understand the plot of "Joker"

The most anticipated film of the fall became the subject of discussion, as soon as it was released. And the point is not only that there is a very ambiguous moral in "Joker", quite unlike typical comic-book films. Director Todd Phillips made viewers doubt the reality of what was happening on the screen, letting everyone decide which events actually happened and which ones only in the imagination of the protagonist.

It will not work to give exact answers to the questions remaining after viewing - they simply do not exist. But you can pay attention to the director's hints. And then maybe you can decide which version is closer to you.

Beware: there are a lot of spoilers in the text. If you haven't watched the movie yet, read our review.

What was real?

This is the main question that arises after watching. Arthur has mental problems, and they are manifested not only by bouts of uncontrollable laughter. Sometimes the hero is too immersed in the world of his dreams.

And there are three main options.

1. Everything is real, except for confirmed fantasies

There are several episodes that Arthur came up with. For example, my first visit to the Murray Franklin Show.

The hero just sat with his mother in front of the TV, but it seemed to him that the showman called him on stage and praised him.

Roughly the same thing happened with the neighbor. Sophie just smiled at Arthur, and he felt that he was paid attention. That was enough to represent the rest.

When the hero, after a visit to the hospital, comes to Sophie's apartment, it turns out that the girl hardly knows him. Arthur himself immediately recalls previous events without her participation.

Sophie, which Arthur invented, is what he needs and what he dreams of. He created this image on top of the real Sophie, because during their first meeting, she simply admitted that he exists.

Zazie Beetz as Sophie

You can also doubt some other points. For example, after being hit by Thomas Wayne, Arthur leans on the sink and spits out blood. In the next shot, he is standing in the same position at home.

Perhaps there was not this blow or even the meeting itself. Moreover, then the hero climbs into the refrigerator and closes the door, and in the next scene everything is all right with him.

But everything else in this interpretation really happened. And, apparently, after several crimes, Arthur was nevertheless arrested on the street and placed in a hospital.

2. Fiction - everything after a visit to the hospital

The strangest and most violent events take place in the last third of the film. After a conversation with Thomas Wayne, the hero comes to the hospital and is finally convinced that he was adopted. Arthur starts flashbacks from childhood, he runs away, and for some reason no one is chasing him.

But perhaps the shocking information finally damaged Arthur's sanity. He was seized in the hospital and placed in a ward.

This means that there was no final transformation into the Joker, no subsequent murders, no visit to the TV show.

This is partly hinted at by the color scheme of the picture. At first, all of Arthur's fantasies are shown much brighter than his real life. By the end, the world around him becomes the same saturated, and the hero himself is already wearing a catchy suit. But maybe he just imagined it all.

This is the opinion of Kevin McCarthy, host of the ReelBlend podcast, who recently spoke with Joaquin Phoenix.

However, the actor himself did not confirm this assumption.

The beauty of "Joker" is the ability to figure out for yourself where the truth is and where the fiction is.

Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck

3. The whole movie is fantasy

This is the most radical, but quite plausible interpretation, which explains all the madness of what is happening and the final words of the hero.

At the very beginning, the social worker mentions that Arthur was in the hospital. Then they show a flashback, where he beats his head against the glass in a white chamber. The hero is clearly unwell, so it is possible that he was never released from the hospital.

And then Arthur only presented all the events. And the joke, which in the finale he refuses to tell the doctor, is his fantasies about a bright and tragic life.

According to the director, the last scene is the only moment when the main character laughs sincerely. And if you consider that the psychiatrist asks: "What's so funny?" - it can be assumed that Arthur has no problems with seizures at all and even this disorder is invented. The real trouble is precisely the inability to distinguish reality from fantasy.

Many people who watched the film said, “Oh, I get it - he just came up with this story. The whole movie is a joke. It was invented by this guy from Arkham. He may not even be the Joker."

Todd Phillips director

However, this version makes the plot of the film too heavy. It turns out that the hero came up with a fantasy in which he came up with new fantasies (for example, about Sophie). But for a complete madman, this is permissible.

Was Arthur the son of Thomas Wayne?

The second most important moment in the film is the origin of Arthur Fleck. His mother Penny writes constantly to Thomas Wayne, for whom she once worked. She asks for material assistance, but does not receive answers.

Arthur unauthorizedly opens the letter and learns that his father is a politician. But he claims that Penny has a mental disorder, and she adopted the child. This is confirmed by documents found in the hospital.

Everything seems to add up to a logical picture. Perhaps, once the girl fell in love with a wealthy employer and came up with an affair with him. In the same way, Arthur himself fantasized about Sophie later. Given Penny's strangeness, she herself could believe to the last that Thomas was Arthur's father.

But there is one moment in the film that raises doubts. Already at the end of the picture, the hero finds a photograph of his mother with the signature of Thomas Wayne "I like your smile."

So maybe there was a romance after all. This means that Arthur may still be the son of a billionaire and, more importantly, the half-brother of Bruce Wayne, the future Batman. And the politician could simply forge the documents, fearing a sex scandal on the eve of the elections. This makes the figure of Thomas darker.

Is Sophie still alive?

A more local question, yet unanswered. Arthur comes to Sophie's apartment after he finds out about his real origins. And then it turns out that they never spoke with the girl.

What happened to Sophie next is not shown. The fact that Arthur still killed her is hinted at by the following scene: he is sitting in his apartment, and outside the window one can hear the sirens of the police and an ambulance.

But if this is so, why was Arthur not arrested, or at least not interrogated after the incident, after all, the police were already interested in him? And why did he kill an innocent woman? He also let go of his colleague Gary after smashing Randall's head.

In general, there is a high probability that the hero just got scared and left.

Is this the Joker?

The film was initially positioned as a separate work, not connected in any way with comics and even more so with the DC Universe. The Joker refers more to the early paintings of Martin Scorsese, often citing Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy.

And even the make-up of the main character resembles not the classic image of the Joker, but the famous killer clown Pogo, aka John Gacy. This reference is confirmed by the name of the club "Pogo", in which Arthur performs.

However, the action takes place in the same Gotham where the events of the comics take place. Arkham Clinic and even Bruce Wayne himself appear in the plot. In addition, the scene of the death of Thomas and Martha at the exit from the cinema is rendered quite canonically, except that the film “Zorro” was changed to a parody of 1981 “Zorro, the blue blade”.

And the correct biography of the Joker does not exist. Even the most famous version of Alan Moore's "Killing Joke" cannot be considered accurate, because there the Joker doubts his past. However, in the plot of the comic, there are coincidences with the fate of Arthur: that Joker also wanted to become a comedian and was not a criminal from the very beginning. In addition, the ending of the film is somewhat reminiscent of the ending of "Killing Joke".

Again, interpretations can be different. Of course, it is difficult to imagine that such a closed person, even going crazy, could become a famous criminal and keep the whole city in fear. In addition, Bruce Wayne is still a child, which means that he will have to fight with the already middle-aged Joker.

From this we can conclude that Arthur Fleck is only a predecessor, the prototype of the Joker from the comics. No wonder in the finale of the film many people in masks of clowns take to the streets. It is possible that some of them will become the new Joker with a completely different character.

But if we take as a basis the version that the whole film is Arthur's fiction, then the reality could be different. Batman could be older, and the Joker - to behave more aggressively and reasonably. Perhaps the hardened criminal just came up with a tragic biography.

The film instantly became a box office hit and recaptured the money invested. And Joaquin Phoenix has already mentioned that he could return to the role in the future. Perhaps, if the sequel takes place, viewers will receive more accurate answers to questions. But in fact, "Joker" is good precisely because everyone can understand it in their own way.