Arthur Fleck is a pathetic unaccomplished man still living with his mother, working as a not so funny clown and an aspiring comedian. Despite his failed attempts he is determined to bring joy and laugher to the world, something his delusional mother tells him he is born to do. He is abused by his family, 'friends' at work, people he looks up to, the psychiatrist that never listens to him and a government who have dropped him and his seven different medications. He has lost his mind and it seems plausible why. He was never a bad man, trying hard to fit in a society which didn't accept him at the time or his equally insane mother.
Youve got to love the irony of it all, a man who has wallowed in his own self pity his entire life cant help but have a disorder where he uncontrollably cant stop laughing. A laugh that Phoenix actually chose to audition for even after he got the part due to the importance of it. Philips says to the Los Angeles Times "there are different laughs in the movie. There is the laugh from Arthur’s affliction and then there is his fake laugh when he’s trying to be ‘one of the people,’ which is my favorite laugh. But at the end, when he’s in the room at Arkham State Hospital, that’s his only genuine laugh in the movie."
Arthur uses his clown makeup to hide behind the darkness that is his own thoughts, sat infront of a mirror he pulls his mouth from one cheek to cheek in an attempted smile whilst one tears falls down his face. His face makeup to mask whats going on inside, but behind it all there is a sad man so desperately wanting to be happy. This movie resonates with with those who live with similar hardships and and are struggling to get by due to upper class supremacy who undermine the working class like Thomas Waynes (who I think is an archetype of Trump) neglect to Arthurs mothers letters, perfectly mirroring the worlds troubled politics at this current time. Resulting in this kill-the-rich vigilante movement.
With a great historical context of New York in the late 1970's to early 1980's, with reference to the Goetz subway shooting, garbage strike and the general breakdown of the social services at this time. In 1977 only 650 community health centres had been built, which wasn't even half of how many needed to be. And hospitals and clinics were being shut down everyday, which Arthur later gets effected by. A sad reality for millions of Americans.
Whilst the striking ending of the movie has been left ambiguous by Warner Bro's with many possible directions it could have been turned into although this is a one-time film. I believe that his heroic status amongst the cities citizens was all made up and false like his relationship with Sophie Dumond. Philips has implied that his hero status is all facade making me question at what what point did the fantasy end? Our final clue will be shown when we know if Matt Reeves’ 'The Batman' will be similarly set in the 1990's or significantly later in time.
