What looks to be a legitimate draft of Todd Phillips and Scott Silver’s screenplay for the highly anticipated Joker movie has leaked online. While I won’t post the script in this post, its hard to avoid highlighting some aspects that is set to make this film controversial.
While the script, from an available draft, dated April 13, 2018, may have changed since its draft as its been rumored that the script changed daily during production. Here are some highlights of the 2018 script.
- The Joker may come off as too sympathetic: many fans may feel the Joker is justified because of society.
- Todd Phillips’ Joker images Arthur Fleck as the ultimate victim, a man with multiple illnesses and traumas driven to violent madness because everyone and everything in his life is hurting him. For much of the first act, he is actually a fairly sympathetic antihero. The point at which viewers fall off his side, however, will vary as the film is set to steer the audience in different directions as to when they turn on Arthur.
- Similarly to The Dark Knight Rises‘ commentary on the Occupy Wall Street Joker‘s is set to follow suit in its own unique method
- Child molestation plays a role in Arthur’s childhood
It’s safe to say Joker earns its R-rating.