fears of a clown

HE CLOWN PRINCE OF CRIME. THE ACE OF KNAVES. The Jester of Genocide. Mistah J. Whatever-you-call-him, Batman’s most infamous nemesis notably doesn’t have a solid origin story, because he exists in the comic book world (and movie adaptations), where characters’ backgrounds habitually warp and evolve as different writers get hold of them. The Joker also likes to wrap himself and his past in mystery, with various explanations for his criminal machinations and clown-style makeup (vats of chemicals often feature). Now, here comes and director Todd Phillips, who has crafted a whole new background for the man and, along with co-writer Scott Silver, cooked up a film that’s unmoored from the wider DC cinematic universe, exploring its own grubby corner. It’s a fascinating, ambitious and very different tale set ostensibly in a superhero world, albeit one in which there are most definitely no superheroics on display. Which appeals to the director. “I would be lying if it wasn’t to grab people’s attention,” Phillips admits speaks to him as he’s putting the finishing touches to the film. “I don’t really love comic book movies, to be honest. They tend to be loud and one certain thing, and I go, ‘Well, maybe you can do something a little bit more interesting.’ I grew up in the late ’70s and these character studies in movies are something that always stuck with me. But what about doing a character study about a comic book character? Joker is the coolest and most interesting, and he also has no origin story that was defined at the time. I’m not saying that this is now the definition of the origin, it’s origin story, so to speak.”