The first trailer for JOKER, the upcoming Joker origin story starring acting heavyweights Joaquin Phoenix and Rober DeNiro, has finally dropped.
Check out the first full-length trailer for JOKER then keep scrolling down to see our frame-by-frame analysis:
Joker Trailer Frame-By-Frame Breakdown
The first look at JOKER is relatively straight-forward and does not reveal much of the plot — something I like to call a “mood-setter”. “Mood-setter” trailers are less about what the movie is about but more about how the movie is going to feel. And that’s certainly the case with this first look at JOKER.
The trailer begins with Joaquin Phoenix’s character, Arthur Flec, in a psychiatrist’s office.
“Does it help to have someone to talk to?” the doctor asks.
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Then, Fleck is seen walking down a street as his voice can be heard saying “my mom used to tell me to smile and put on a happy face.”
“I thought my purpose was to bring laughter and joy to the world,” Fleck continues.
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As this voiceover rings through the trailer, Fleck can be seen getting dressed up in clown gear to wave a for sale sign that says “Everything Must Go”.
The sign is then stolen, prompting Fleck to chase the thieves. He catches up to them, but the thieves just end up smashing the sign in his face.
“Is it just me or is it getting crazier out there?”, Fleck questions before the music of the trailer picks up.
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Fleck is then seen dancing with what appears to be his wife or girlfriend (or maybe even his mother, unfortunately) before showing him in a diner with Zazie Beetz’s character.
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The trailer then cuts Fleck walking up to an early iteration of Arkham Asylum before jumping to a bizarre scene of Fleck standing in the back of an ambulance as a man has a seizure.
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Then, about halfway through the trailer as he’s sitting in the crowd of a stand-up comedy show, Phoenix debuts his trademark Joker laugh.
The next scene is Fleck sitting in front of a mirror, applying clown make-up before he manually stretches his face into the iconic Joker smile.
Fleck is completely off the rails at this point in the trailer, as we next see him sitting on a subway in full clown gear, seemingly having a mental breakdown.
After the subway scene, the trailer then shows Fleck’s full descent into the Joker, showing him in costume, dying his hair green, running through the streets, and generally raising hell.
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The chilling trailer closes with Fleck saying: “I used to think that my life was a tragedy, but now I realize … it’s a comedy.”
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In addition to Phoenix in the titular role, Joker also stars Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Shea Whigham, and others.
Joker will be released in theaters on Friday, October 4, 2019, in the United States, although showings will begin on the evening of Thursday, October 3.
What did you think of the first trailer for ‘Joker’? Are you interested or have you given up on DC? Is Joaquin Phoenix as the iconic Joker enough of a draw for you? Let us know in the comment section below!
