Ridley Scott Criticizes Joker But Praises Joaquin Phoenix’s Performance
Joaquin Phoenix truly was a standout in his Oscar-winning role in Joker. Alien’s Ridley Scott would agree with that as he praised Phoenix for portraying the origin story of the famed villain but criticized the movie as a whole.
Compared to seeing Joker facing off against Batman as usual on the big screen, Todd Phillips‘ Joker is solely a character study of Joker. Audiences witnessed how aspiring comic Arthur Fleck became the diabolical villain of Gotham City. However, not everyone was a fan of the movie. Ridley Scott, who directed Joquin Phoenix in Gladiator, said to Deadline that while he may not have enjoyed Joker, a familiar actor’s performance didn’t escape his attention.
“I was blown away by his outrageous film Joker,” said Scott. “I didn’t like the way it celebrated violence, but Joaquin was remarkable.”
Ridley Scott could be referring to how audiences were seeing things from his perspective of the violent Arthur Fleck. Viewers can argue that the movie makes us want to sympathize with the failed stand-up comic. His uncontrollable laughing stops him from making a name for himself, with his peers showing no empathy for him. This gives him the motivation to violently lash out at the world.
On the other hand, Ridley Scott can thank Joker for showing him Joaquin Phoenix’s acting range. So much so that according to Empire, what he saw in Joker inspired The Last Duel filmmaker to reunite with Phoenix and cast him in the epic historical drama Napoleon.
“I’m staring at Joaquin and saying, ‘This little demon is Napoleon Bonaparte.’ He looks like him.”
When Joker first came out in 2019, there were a lot of critics who found fault with the film’s violence. Time Magazine said critics who first saw Joker at the Venice and
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