Conveying Character Change Through Cinematography in Joker
The film Joker, directed by Todd Philips, is an origin story surrounding the infamous DC comic book character of the Joker. This character has often been depicted in popular forms of media throughout the past from the point of view of being the villain in the plot. This is the key concept in which this film deviates from the original template. The film is shown from the standpoint of following Arthur Fleck, played by Joaquin Phoenix, as he undergoes his transformation into the Joker. Arthur is portrayed as a man at the end of his tether working as a clown in Gotham City. He suffers from a mental condition, similar to the pseudobulbar effect, which causes him to burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter. The primary objective of this scene is to convey the internal transformation that Arthur goes through as a result of the violence that occurs on the subway.
The scene begins with Arthur laughing in the subway due to his condition of laughing when he is in uncomfortable situations. He encounters three young investors, in the same subway compartment, who are harassing a woman, seated opposite to them, by throwing food at her. Feeling helplessness and a sense of remorse for not being able to assist the woman, Arthur starts to laugh. Upon hearing Arthur’s abnormal laughter, the investors find a new target for their incessant bullying. They immediately begin to make fun of Arthur and then start to physically abuse him. Arthur tries to avoid them by attempting to inform them that he has a mental condition by showing his medical card. With no regard for Arthur’s pleas, the investors beat him savagely until Arthur reaches for his gun and shoots them. Having realized that he has just killed three men, Arthur runs out of the subway station and rushes into a dilapidated bathroom. While in the bathroom, Arthur tries to calm himself and then goes into a kind of calming dance.
The primary arc that is shown in this scene is Arthur’s realization of who he truly is. During the beginning of the scene, Arthur’s character is helpless and isolated. This is shown primarily through Arthur’s position in the scene in relation to the other characters. This is a similar phenomenon concerning the woman who is being harassed. Both Arthur and the woman are isolated in their own spaces. As the woman leaves the scene, the audience starts to focus on Arthur who is physically far away from the three investors, thus isolating him even more and establishing him as the outsider in the scene. The depth of field also plays a significant role in separating Arthur from the other individuals in the scene. Even when the investors come closer to Arthur, the camera continues to focus on Arthur instead of allowing the others into the field of vision. The constant flickering of the lights in the subway compartment creates a sense of impending conflict. Another element that is added as a result of the flickering lights is the fact that the scene establishes the investor as the character with the greater authority. The scene paints him as a more dangerous and powerful individual. As the scene gets more tense and the investors come closer to Arthur in an adversarial fashion, the flickering is more pronounced foreshadowing some sort of clash. This technique continues when the three investors start beating and kicking Arthur resulting in him writhing on the floor of the subway. For the majority of the beating, the camera is framed on Arthur’s face so that the audience can see his descent into anger. The moment when Arthur fires the shots, the audience is able to tell that this decision was not premeditated due to the quick cuts and the suddenness of the shots. When Arthur fires the first shot, the camera is focused on the man who was the first to start beating him instead of on the gun. This shows that the action of shooting the three investors was more of a surprise to both Arthur and the audience. In the aftermath of the first shot, the camera moves in a more rapid fashion to reflect the sudden and shocking change in the narrative. After realizing what he has just done, Arthur is shown processing his actions in a haphazard manner almost as if debating whether or not his actions were committed in self-defense. This is reflected in the handheld movement of the camera and the slight tilt of the frame. Both these creative techniques are meant to symbolize the fact that Arthur has not yet fully realized the extent of the significance of his actions and is caught in a kind of adrenaline surge. As Arthur realizes that the third investor has escaped and is trying to run away from him, the camera immediately stabilizes to convey Arthur’s frame of mind when he understands that his next action should be to finish his work and kill the third man. This is a quick moment of change from when he uses the gun to defend himself and when he uses it as a strategic hunter trying to murder the third investor. The primary changes in the visual language of the scene are due to the major shift in power between the characters. As Arthur is chasing the third man, his figure is shown as the one in power, while the third investor is crawling up the stairs trying to save himself. The image of Arthur looming over the investor is menacing and is meant to reflect the shift in the power dynamic from the start of the scene. The following close-up wide-angle shots of Arthur combined with the high-pitched white noise represents the second part of Arthur’s realization concerning his actions. The wide-angle shots imply a sense of intimacy with the character, conveying a sense of apprehension for Arthur. The next few shots depict Arthur running away from the scene of the crime. During these shots, the camera moves more rapidly showing Arthur’s internal conflict concerning killing the three men. The camera movements calm down when Arthur enters the bathroom syncing with his movements. As Arthur becomes calmer, the camera movements follow his nature by either being still or by smoothly tracking him. The rest of the scene consists of Arthur dancing in the bathroom. Initially the camera moves with him in an extremely calming and almost serene fashion reflecting Arthur’s acceptance of his actions. The lighting also changes from a harsher light in the subway conveying the conflict, to a softer fill light that completely captures Arthur reflecting a calmer state of mind. The last frame in the scene is Arthur looking at himself in the mirror in a kind of triumphant pose as if he is revealing his true nature to the world. The shot selection plays a significant role in conveying Arthur’s metamorphosis into the Joker. Since the camera is focused on Arthur’s reflection and not on his actual body, it is evident that Arthur’s base consciousness has been altered to match that of the Joker.
It is important to keep in mind that up till this point in the film, Arthur has tried to maintain his external persona as a normal human being despite his serious struggles with mental illness. At one point, he even writes in his journal “The worst part about having a mental illness is people expect you to behave like you don’t”. It is clear that throughout his life, Arthur has tried to maintain this mask of fitting into society when it is obvious that his true persona is trying to come out. At the start of the scene, Arthur is characterized as helpless and as a man on the verge of collapse. His character is at his lowest as a result of him becoming unemployed, living in poverty, and struggling with mental illness. During the middle of the scene, when Arthur has just killed the three investors, he feels a surge of power and great sense of fear. By the end of his dance, he has come to terms with his actions without any remorse and has decided to reveal his inner personality. This scene encompasses the start of his transformation from being Arthur Fleck to becoming the Joker.