(by Alex John)
This has been one of the closest contests in the history of cinema on who played the same character better than the other. I mean, there have been countless remakes of different films in world cinema, and several takes on the dreaded comic villain Joker himself, but Heath Ledger raised the bar so high in the 2008 version that nobody plays that character escapes the inevitable comparison, or did. Oscar fever is on, and Joaquin Phoenix, like any other actor, would have braced himself for the big day, but did he better his Christopher Nolan’s version counterpart? I have found the answer for myself. What would that be? Well, let me cut to the chase right away.
I think he did. Why do I think that? Let me try and expound on how impeccable a task I believe Phoenix carried off in 2019’s Joker. What the film company did was to put an iconic comic character’s name on the posters of the film, and unleash a fairly wide campaign on it. Hopes were pumped up, and what the viewers who rushed in got was a film without any of the usual ingredients of a comic book movie. The film didn’t have the bone-tickling wit, captivating computer effects, great action scenes and didn’t even have a long enough fight scene. And most importantly, it didn’t have the comic character plot like what the viewers read in the comic books. What audiences got instead was a dark, gritty and almost original emotional tale viewers usually turn their backs to these days. Meaning? The movie almost entirely depended on Joaquin Phoenix’s histrionics to pull off the impossible. And it went on to become the highest grossing R-rated movie worldwide, and crossed the prestigious billion dollar mark without having to depend on Chinese ticket counters. This should be a fairly good account of the arduous task this actor shouldered without being stooped down by its weight.
Okay then, what about Heath Ledger’s Joker? An astonishing performance undoubtedly, but it had all the above mentioned comic book movie elements to back it up(although not sure about the computer effects). And a much higher budget. And a director who belongs to an entirely different league than that of Todd Philips. And another thing which could be a cruel fact, but a fact nonetheless. Ledger’s untimely death definitely generated an emotional current that propelled his character portrayal into much greater fame and acceptance. I wouldn’t say more than it deserved, but more than it was intended to get. As a fact as it remains, I feel I should stop writing about it and move on to one more reason why I believe Phoenix’s Joker outdid Ledger’s.
It is the wide range emotions Phoenix could bring on to the screen while playing Joker. Ledger’s performance was mostly physical and one of the wildest ever in the history of Hollywood. But Phoenix, while being rambunctious enough, displayed a variety of minute emotions that are characteristic of a great actor. I am in no way trying to implicate physical acting is easy , but there are reasons why Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton are hailed as great performers, not great actors. Joaquin Phoenix’s face had that all. The sadness, the agony, the helplessness, the seclusion and that wry smile that made viewers sadder than they already were. And while Ledger got to don a mask during the physical act, Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker had to face the audiences because the film was telling them a man’s story, not the comic book version of it. I believe Heath Ledger, for all his talent, could do justice to this role too, but was destined to play the less acting and more performing version of the celebrated antagonist. Last year’s Joker was a scrutiny of Joaquin Phoenix’s acting and theatrical skills, and he came off with flying colors. See, my biggest issue with this film is that it shied away from the cold-blooded monster Joker really is, and stopped where he is kind of a run-away vigilante due to obvious mercantile reasons (or is there a Joker 2?). But I didn’t care about this while I watched the film as I was so invested in the soulful performance of its lead actor. A truly absorbing cinematic experience it was.
So, let me wrap this up by saying this;while Heath Ledger’s joker is delightfully hyperactive,Phoenix’s melancholic act stays closer to the norms of Cinema, with slices of great theater added in. Summing all these up, I am left with no choice than to believe that on any given day, Phoenix’s all-round portrayal of Joker has an edge over Ledger’s unforgettable performance,Oscar or not.
Baradwaj Rangan 
An Jo
January 19, 2020
There’s a scene in JOKER where Arthur Fleck’s (Joaquin Phoenix) mother says to him when he keeps telling her that he wants to break into the ‘comedy-club’ scene: “But don’t you have to be funny to be a comedian?” In essence, if one explodes this line into a film exploring a nihilistic look at life, what one gets is a trouble-some, dark, and truly grim JOKER. Not everything is what could-be; or should-be. Arthur’s thoughts are too sensitive for this world; too sensitively-stupid in fact, while all Arthur is wondering about is what’s happened to this world? Why are people behaving this way? Why is there no civility? And you wonder, if one is living in a grimy, dirty, filthy NYC passed off as Gotham City of the ‘70s, could anyone even afford to be sensitive, unless there’s something really wrong with one’s mind. Arthur thinks one should be civil in life, ‘wait’ for one’s turn at the subway station, wait for one’s turn in life: Alas, that’s not the Gotham city reflected here. It’s a cynical, depressed, brutal world where the rich are busy laughing with and at Chaplin’s Modern Times while the poor are outside surrounded by cops and garbage bags lying around for weeks and, well, super rats!
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An Jo
January 19, 2020
I have posted above what I thought of the film in general, and JP performance in particular.
There are scenes in the film, which ‘evolve’ toward performance thematically to ward HL’s performance.
That arc, that gap-analysis, is one of the greatest one that I ever saw in film-history, according to my very poor knowledge.
The greatest one that comes close, is DILIPS’s AAJ GHAM BHI HAIN HUM from FOOTPATH and BACHCHAN’S one of the greatest acts ever in SHAHTI where he enacts a snake…
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An Jo
January 19, 2020
Here’s the song – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwvZZ2e2NH0
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Madan
January 19, 2020
Nice write up. Must watch the Phoenix version of Joker soon. Loved him in Walk The Line, needless to say. It’s a very difficult debate as to whether a physical performance is better or a cerebral one and, like many other things, really depends on what the film needs. From what I have read of Phoenix’s performance, I would say Ledger’s was a link between the highly theatrical essays of villains in general in yesteryear films (including Jack Nicholson in the same role) and a nuanced performance like Phoenix’s. Because while Ledger’s performance was physical, it was not an over the top caricature of what a bad guy should be like. This Joker had a nasty sense of humour and swag to go with a menace that felt real. In some ways, it also feels real because the mannerisms and style of speaking aren’t entirely new. Watch below:
The Tom Waits ‘dialect’ and Brandon Lee’s look from The Crow. Ledger’s Joker was a brilliant example of appropriating artfully from the existing body of work to create something new.
More here, in the posts by the commenter ‘Hitman’. Yup, all this discussion of Batman on a tennis forum, lol.
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/the-dark-knight-is-goaty-af.660281/
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An Jo
January 19, 2020
I re-read this again and a great write-up Alex. Great comment Madan, as usual!
You really need to watch JOKER Madan: We are always told there’s an immersive experience in cinema and it’s technicality. Perhaps this is the first time, after SHAKTI, I have seen an immersive experience in the mind of a character! I hope you enjoy the film.
” The film didn’t have the bone-tickling wit, captivating computer effects, great action scenes and didn’t even have a long enough fight scene. And most importantly, it didn’t have the comic character plot like what the viewers read in the comic books. What audiences got instead was a dark, gritty and almost original emotional tale viewers usually turn their backs to these days. Meaning? The movie almost entirely depended on Joaquin Phoenix’s histrionics to pull off the impossible.”
— spoiler —
And that scene where JP coughs up blood and painfully rises on the bonnet of a crashed cab – and is hailed, firstly, self-congratulating himself as a hero, and then roared on by the mob, that gave me goose-bumps. It took nearly 2 days for me to forget that scene. A ‘loser’ in life; trying to be something of a ‘meaning’ in life! What a scene that was!!!!!!
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Enigma
January 20, 2020
Nice article Alex. Saw Joker recently and was blown by Phoenix’s performance. I am not sure if it is better than Ledger’s but was definitely a very different take. Phoenix makes you sympathise with Arthur Fleck and also creates a sense of fear whereas with Ledger, at least in my case, it was more of a showy performance. I was in awe of Ledger’s turn as the joker but didn’t feel anything.
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brangan
January 20, 2020
Enigma: Phoenix makes you sympathise with Arthur Fleck and also creates a sense of fear whereas with Ledger, at least in my case, it was more of a showy performance.
That’s because the characters are WRITTEN that way. What you are saying has more to do with the screenplay than the actors.
Had Ledger got to play the lead in JOKER, he, too, would have made you sympathise with the character.
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H. Prasanna
January 20, 2020
Yeah I agree with BR; a more reasonable comparison would be Kamal Hassan versus Mohanlal in Dhrishyam/Papanasam.
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Rahul
January 20, 2020
Heath Ledger’s Joker is like Gabbar Singh, it will be remembered for ever. The joker 2019 and JP tried too hard. I could barely wait for the movie to finish. But then he may get the Oscar so what do I know.
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MANK
January 20, 2020
I agree Rahul. I am not a big fan of Dark Knight, but Heath Ledger was terrific in the role. I dont know if it will be as iconic as Gabbar Singh, but Ledger’s performance made that film for me. Not that it was a subtle performance, bu the over-the-topism appeared to be much more organic
I couldn’t stand Joker or JP’s performance.I found it extremely boring, irritating and overdone. But he might win the oscar, because Oscar always goes to actors who try too hard.
The best analogy for this is the two Max Cady performances in the two Cape Fears. Robert Mitchum’s performance as Max Cady is for me the greatest interpretation of a psychotic in movies, as opposed to heavily over done ‘method’ madness of De Niro in Scorsese’s equally over produced remake. i wrote about it here
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Rahul
January 20, 2020
MANK, that was a terrific write – up. Thanks for sharing. Really enjoyed the bits of Hollywood history . Makes me want to revisit Cape Fear that I had seen long time ago.
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Enigma
January 21, 2020
Ah yes brangan, completely forgot about the writing. Thanks for pointing that out. It is the way that the writers have written the character. Arthur Fleck is the protagonist of the movie and the writers almost want the audience to root for him. Phoenix was just brilliant. I do agree with the other commenters here that he may have been over the top but brilliant nevertheless. Speaking of writing there is this chilling, at the same time poignant scene which I so loved -(spoiler alert) two friends are paying him a visit, Fleck stabs and kills one of them. The other friend, a dwarf, is trying to leave but the door is bolted and he is not able to open it. He requests Fleck to open the door for him. While watching the scene l was absolutely terrified about what Fleck will do to him. Both the actor playing the dwarf and Phoenix were so good in that scene.
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abishekspeare
January 21, 2020
BR, you bored of desi war movies or something? You didn’t review panipat, and I don’t think you’re reviewing tanhaji either 😦
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e221
January 21, 2020
Rewind 2008. Comic book movies are just comic book movies and not mainsteam. Then came the dark knight. Yes Ledgers untimely death always spells a shadow when ever we judge his performance. But man.What a performance.That movie is about Batman and not entirely about joker and Ledger had a screen time of just 33 minutes and 10 second whereas Phoenix had an entire movie and now lets break down what Heath did in that 33 minutes and 10 second.
What made Heath immortal as Joker is Heath does not display not just one aspect of Joker. He is a sociopath, a psychopath, a killer, a loner, a chronic lier, a master manipulator, a charmer, a clown,an impulsive person with zero morality, conscience and absolute chaos maker with occasional hallucinations and paranoia, Heath displayed all this characteristics of joker and delivered with such a variety, such conviction and with lot of nuances that you could never see one repetitive performance(Except the licking of lips which is inline with the character) for the course of 33 minutes. As Phoenix himself mentioned, Phoenix just stood up on the shoulder of the giant thats Ledger. Its heath along with Christopher Nolan reinvented comic book villain into close real life characters they are today and made comic movies into serious mainstream movies they are now. That legacy will be with Heath for ever(Dark knight was the first comic book movie that crossed a billion dollar and this was in 2008).
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Alex John
January 22, 2020
@e221 I have to say you’re right. But I was trying to see JP’s act from a film star’s perspective. Yes, he had the whole film to himself, but that also gave him the big responsibility of carrying a huge film with equally huge expectations on his shoulders, like I pointed out, without the help of the usual comic movie jollifications.To me, JP’s Joker was more visceral and relatable than Ledger’s stagy act, but I also believe that Ledger could do justice to any role being the eminently capable actor he was. We are just unlucky we don’t see more of him.
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e221
January 22, 2020
@Alex, If you take a quick look into the winners of Best actor and Best Supporting actor Oscar category for the past 20 to 25 years, Most of the films or I would say with exception of Gladiator almost all of them are Dramas. Dark Knight is the only Blockbuster Action film(with exception of gladiator) with huge set piece. So having won an Oscar for a an action blockbuster film was an achievement by itself. Back to the performance, i believe Heath gave a performance that balanced audience expectations from a blockbuster comic book villain and a real life character(Jokers Makeup itself resembles close towards how a real person would look if he becomes a joker). We had Heath before Phoenix and whom we had before Heath? Jim Carrey? Nah…..Having said that, it does not mean Phoenix performance is less than Ledgers. It Just mean Heath performance was more of a revelation that inspired many directors and actors to come up with ideas better than that.
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Alex John
January 23, 2020
@221 See, you’re again right about Ledger setting a precedent by winning an Oscar for a mass market performance. But then, what if Phoenix wins an Oscar too? Where does that put him on the prestige-o-meter? Like I wrote, I am in no way undermining Ledger’s iconic performance, I just feel Phoenix has an edge over him because 1) He carried the film almost entirely on his shoulders(from the box office perspective) which Ledger didn’t have to. 2)his Joker was more, what do I say, palpable than Ledger’s stagy performance which would have a definitive upper-hand if played in a theater. Watching both the films in movie halls, I felt JP’s act more heartfelt and restrained than HL’s, a feeling that I couldn’t ignore.
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e221
January 24, 2020
@Alex John As you already know that will both Phoenix and Ledger as only the second time in history where two different actors won Oscar for playing the same character(previous one was God Father). 🙂
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Alex John
January 24, 2020
Oh, exciting trivia that. Didn’t think about it first. Brando refused it though, right?
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Devarsi Ghosh
February 16, 2020
I hope Phoenix played the last Joker in my lifetime, because I cannot stand one more iteration of this irritating character.
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Glamdring23
April 26, 2020
In terms of raw, instant impact that a character can have on the viewer, Ledger’s Joker is a runaway winner. Having been impressioned thus, my reply is a justification.
In Joker, the movie spends an awful lot of time with character development, showing us the slow yet inevitable descent into madness of a man, who is beset in every way possible with the vulnerabilities of one destined for insanity. So with the screentime and the opportunities that the role offered, and a talent as good as Phoenix – no surprises there as to how that turned out.
Which is where Ledger’s Joker is remarkable. The movie isn’t about him. He gets his time onstage alright, but not most of it. But what he does with that time is spectacular. We have only snippets to go by of this fascinating psychopath. No elaborate origin story, (his little titbits of origin stories tantalizing even more) no time spent on seeing his thought process unfold, just Ledger letting his Joker hold us by the scruff of our necks in every scene he has. And by the time he is done, we are mesmerized, enthralled at having seen an actor bring to life the greatest Villain that ever laughed.
Maybe this is all pointless. After all, these may not be even the same Jokers. They may not want the same things. Hell, they may be even from alternate realities. Even then, as standalone performances, Ledger all the way for me. Peace. 🙂
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