The Joker has been my favorite arch-nemesis character through the years, and it is fascinating to see how different generations tend to “make him their own.”  Looking back at the old comic book reprints, he was a small-time hood who emerges from a chemical vat resembling the protagonist from the great silent film, THE MAN WHO LAUGHS.  In the 1960’s, he contributed to the campy silliness of the “Batman” television series as “The Clown Prince of Crime.”  Then, with comic book updates like “The Dark Knight Returns” and “The Killing Joke,” he became the murderous psychotic with fair consistency through all modern iterations.
   
Now, we have a different version ... JOKER.  This one provides a backstory featuring the complete absence of a super villain.  In fact, although set in 1981 (my assumption from seeing a theater marquee in the film showing ZORRO, THE GAY BLADE), this character could be the foundation for stories going in many different directions ... from Paul Kersey in the original DEATH WISH (it does have a subway shooting scene) to Randall McMurphy in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST.
   
Instead, the Viewer is introduced to Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a man being treated for an unspecified mental illness who is both delusional and highly sensitive to a world that is unrelentingly hostile and unforgiving.  He tries to make his way in life by “following the rules,” but he encounters resistance at every turn.  When he snaps, it is in response to the people who have power and won’t give others a chance to succeed.
   
It is very unsettling to “buy in” to the argument made in JOKER that such a psychotic can arise from the “real world.”  No chemical vat is needed ... just a society filled with self-centeredness, an unwillingness to care or listen, and a constant array of obstacles.
   
Joaquin Phoenix is startling and transfixing as Arthur Fleck.  He gives a performance that constantly surprises, and is never willing to go for the obvious, “safe” choice.  I remember seeing a performance of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA on Broadway in which the title character was so unpredictable that I wondered if he was going to leap into the audience at some point.  Phoenix gave a performance that had that same “feel.”
   
The supporting performers were all fine, although none of them “stood out” for me.  This included Robert De Niro.  JOKER is a showcase for Joaquin Phoenix.
    
Although there were themes that could have been more deeply explored, this is essentially the backstory of a character who takes the name Joker.  Is he The Joker?  A part of me doubts it.  I remember the ending of an episode of the television series, “Gotham,” in which a person we believe will become The Joker is killed.  The episode ends with various disturbed people who were inspired by him claiming, “I am The Joker!”  That is what I see happening after the end of JOKER.  I didn’t have the sense that I had watched the birth of the character who would become Batman’s greatest adversary.  All I initially felt as the end credits rolled was ... empty.