Synopsis:

This edit retells the story of Joker in four parts and leans into the unreliable nature of the character.

Intentions:

Joker was an interesting film that was largely inspired by The King of Comedy and Taxi Driver by Scorsese - two great films I highly recommend you go watch - but I thought it'd be interesting to rework it so that it followed a more ambiguous route - after all, the Joker's backstory has always been a mystery and reworking the film in this way keeps it as such.

Change List:

Scenes were rearranged into four different arcs. 1. I Have A Condition - Follows Arthur's mental condition, the shootings on the train that result from it, and the subsequent clown-related protests. 2. Clowning Around - Follows Arthur's party clown career and the trouble he runs into after buying a gun. 3. Happy - Follows Arthur's difficult financial situation and his relationship with his mother. 4. That's Life - Follows Arthur's stand up career and his interest in Murray's show. The character of Sophie (and the subplot relating to her) was almost completely cut, save for a few brief appearances. The asylum scene from the end was split up and used at the end of each arc, in order to imply Arthur is telling these stories to the prison psychiatrist. Some overlap between the arcs was inevitable - I mostly let this be as it feeds into the unreliable narrator aspect of the story.

Additional Notes:

1st arc - I Have A Condition: Cut Arthur on the bus with the kid. Although this scene provides exposition, I thought it best to leave Arthur's condition be ambigious, plus there is a clash here as the very next scene is Arthur on a train - didn't want to go from a bus scene to a train screne. Trimmed scene where Arthur and Sophie see the poster so that they are not walking together, she is just a random person who talks to Arthur. Cut shots of Arthur at the first protest, as the next scene is him going out in clown makeup and running into protesters on the train. 2nd arc - Clowning Around: Cut Arthur playing with the gun and accidently firing it. Cut mention of the train killings as Arthur clears out of work. 3rd arc - Happy: Cut Sophie from the scene where Arthur is at hospital. 4th arc - That's Life: Cut Arthur meeting Sophie, stalking her, inviting her to his standup, their relationship, her at the standup, Arthur entering her apartment. Reason: her presence had no relevance to any of the four arcs, felt like a Fight Club-inspired idea that was tacked on. Cut shot in asylum implying Arthur is laughing at Thomas' murder.

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