The Killing Joke

It’s almost 1:30 in the morning and what am I doing?  I’m writing my second review of the night!  I’m the one you know as TheCinemaChick and I’m here to talk about movies!  I’ve written my review of “Suicide Squad” so I figured, why not go on to another DC movie that has actually received more praise?  I will have to put up a content warning because this one is much more controversial as well.  It was in theaters for only one night, but it was also available to be watched digitally.  It’s based on a one shot in the DC universe.  If you haven’t guessed it by now, I’m talking about one of the most disturbing and violent graphic novels that has ever been written.

So without further ado, let’s get into “The Killing Joke”.

***WARNING!  Spoilers ahead!***

**Trigger warning!  This blog will mention violence, murder and rape.**

Now, this is one of those cases where I have read the source material before seeing the movie.  I’m happy to say that they stay faithful to the graphic novel.  While the first half hour is dedicated to something that has nothing to do with the original story, the last part blew my mind. 

Parents, even though this is an animated movie, this one ain’t for the kiddies.  Don’t let them watch this until they are much older.  This seventy-seven-minute cartoon deals with murder, sex, torture and something that I will get to in a bit.  I’m an adult and this left me feeling really uncomfortable.  And I watched “12 Years a Slave”, which had some extremely disturbing content.

Like I mentioned, the first part of this was written for the movie’s sake.  I guess to flesh out the running time a bit since the graphic novel isn’t that long.  I want to say it’s probably only about forty pages, but don’t quote me on that.  We get a nice little story about Barbara Gordon, the daughter of commissioner Jim Gordon.  You might also know her as Batgirl, Batman’s partner in crime fighting.  She fails to stop a robbery then gets too involved.  A mafia man named Paris Franz (one of the worst possible names for a villain) becomes obsessed with her.  Franz later tricks her into finding a dead body, who happens to the Franz’s uncle.  In case it isn’t obvious, Paris killed his own uncle.  Batman becomes concerned and tells Batgirl he doesn’t want her on the case anymore. 

I have to admit, this part was almost perfect.  Batman admits that he is worried about her mental health.  She too is becoming obsessed with the case and it has caused her to make some dangerous and stupid decisions.  If Batgirl keeps going down the path she is on, she will turn herself into a murderer, something he doesn’t want for her.  This upsets her and they get into a very heated argument on a roof top.  Then they have sex.  And for the next roughly five minutes, this becomes the focus of the movie.

Normally, five minutes isn’t that long, but remember, this movie is barely over an hour long.  Barbara and Batman stop talking and she regrets the sex.  She actually apologizes for what happened.  Even then, she gets right back into crime fighting.  Barbara pretty much ignores everything Batman told her and goes after Franz alone.  This time, he pushes her too far and she beats him to a bloody pulp.  Only when she realizes what she’s done does she stop.  Batgirl retires when she accepts that she’s going down the wrong path and walks away from being a vigilante.

Now, this is where the graphic novel comes into play.

Batman is called to Arkham because something seems off.  There’s been a murder and people seem to think that The Joker is behind it.  The problem?  Joker has been locked away for a long time.  During a little heart to heart, Batman learns that the person imprisoned is not the real man.  Joker has escaped and left a decoy in his place.

The real Joker shows up at Commissioner Gordon’s apartment and shoots Barbara in the stomach.  Because of the severity of the attack, she is left paralyzed.  Gordon is then kidnapped while Joker strips his daughter naked and photographs her.

I’m going to paus here for just a moment.  Remember that one thing I was going to save for later?  Well, here it is.  I was looking at some reviews and theories about “The Killing Joke”.  Yes, it is sickening for a man to shoot a woman then take photos of her while she’s still bleeding and nude.  I did read one possible idea that made me think.  There are some people who believe that it’s not as innocent (and I use that term extremely loosely here) as it looks.  The movie shows that Barbara is conscious while being undressed.  There is a theory that Joker also raped her.  I don’t know if this is true, but judging by what happens later, I think it might have happened.  You’ll see what I mean.

Gordon is taken to an old amusement park and also stripped naked.  He is forced to go on a carnival ride where he is shown the photographs of his injured, naked daughter.  This is why I think Joker did indeed rape Barbara.  Gordon already knew that his daughter was shot.  He witnessed it.  And being her father, he’s probably seen her naked before, though she was probably a child at the time.  You know, he probably changed some diapers and bathed her.  What could be more shocking that that?  Seeing your child sexually assaulted at her most vulnerable moment.  That’s what drove him over the edge.  After the ride, he’s left in such a state of shock, he can’t even function.  But, this is what Joker wanted: to drive Commissioner Gordon into insanity.

Then we go into a flashback.  We get to see Joker’s origin story.  He was an ordinary man trying to support his pregnant wife.  Instead of being an engineer, he wanted to try and be a stand-up comedian.  He fails miserably, unable to pay the rent.  In a last ditch effort to get some money, he agrees to help some men break into the chemical plant where he used to work in exchange for money.  While discussing this with the two henchman, he is informed that Jeannie, his wife, and unborn child have died in a freak household accident.  Greif stricken, he is forced to continue with the heist.

At the plant, he is forced to wear a red mask and red cape so people think that he is Red Cape, a notorious villain in Gotham.  Things don’t go as planned and the men are shot.  Batman shows up to deal with the criminals.  In the heat of the moment, the man in the red mask trips and falls into a vat of chemicals.  He washes up outside, only to be completely disfigured.  He is now the Joker we all know.  The disfigurement and the loss of his wife send him into madness.

Back in the present day, Batman finds Gordon, shocked but still sane.  Gordon then tells Batman that he has to bring Joker down, but to do it “by the books”.  We go into the final confrontation between Gotham’s masked vigilante and the Clown Prince of Crime.  It culminates in Batman offering to help Joker be rehabilitated but the latter refuses, believing it to be too late.  Joker tells him a joke and they both laugh.  If you pay attention, you’ll notice that after about a minute or so, you only hear Batman chuckling.  It is not stated if he has killed Joker but rather, left open to interpretation.

The voice acting in this is superb.  Mark Hamill is one the best Jokers to have ever appeared, or in this case voiced, on screen.  He has this almost hoarse, breathy voice that sounds like he is teetering on the edge of madness.  He even has the laugh down perfectly.  I’ve seen a lot of the animated Batman shows and heard the different voice actors, but to me, Hamill is tops.  Kevin Conroy is equally talented and amazing.  I can find nothing bad to say about the people who lent their voices to this project.

Content wise, I can find some negatives.  As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, this is not for the faint of heart.  I read the graphic novel before watching this and it is one hundred percent faithful to the source material.  It was well written, both in the book and on the screen.  However, there is a lot of torture and violence.  It is unsettling to see it and I was left highly uncomfortable after viewing the film.  While it is tastefully done and you don’t see the worst parts of it, it is strongly hinted at so you know it happened.  And while it isn’t clear what exactly happened to Barbara after her father was taken, I’ve presented one theory. 

I have to admit, I liked “The Killing Joke” more than I liked “Suicide Squad”.  The flashbacks added to the story and helped to make the Joker a sympathetic character.  It also shows what caused him to go insane.  In this case, it makes sense to me.  Yes, it is hard to watch at times and they didn’t exactly do a great job with Barbara Gordon because she is stuck in the inferior role.  Batgirl is treated more like a rookie who doesn’t know what she’s doing when compared to Batman.  He even scolds her like a child. 

But I would watch it again.  It makes you think, it has a solid plot and there is room for interpretation.  It’s also the most faithful adaptation I have ever seen.  This is coming from the woman who took a class dedicated to adaptations in college.  If you’re strong of heart, give this one a watch.  If not, best stick to a summary of it so you don’t have to see the graphic scenes.

I’m TheCinemaChick and I just have one question. “Why aren’t you laughing?”