Factual error: Based on the films being shown at the theater, the movie appears to be set in 1981. One of the TV commercials shows the Energizer Bunny, which didn't make its first appearance until 1988.
Joker (2019)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Robert De Niro, Joaquin Phoenix, Frances Conroy, Zazie Beetz
Off his medication and with nothing left to live for, Arthur kills his colleague who gave him the gun and makes his way to the studio, evading the detectives in a riot on a subway train. Appearing on the show in full makeup and insisting on being introduced as "Joker", he loses the audience's goodwill with his dark jokes. He admits to murdering the 3 men on the train and rails against society, saying that everyone's "awful", including host Murray. Saying "you get what you f***ing deserve" he shoots Murray in the head, then twice more. He's tackled and arrested, but Gotham city is rioting, and a man in a clown mask steals an ambulance and rams the police car transporting him. The protesters remove him from the car and encourage him to stand up. He rises, and realising his mouth is bleeding, he uses the blood to paint a smile on his face, revelling in the rioters' approval. We also see another rioter in a clown mask identifying the Wayne family leaving the cinema - he accosts them, repeating Joker's line about getting what you deserve, shooting them both and leaving Bruce standing over the bodies of his murdered parents.
More mistakes in Joker
Arthur Fleck: My mother always tells me to smile and put on a happy face. She told me I had a purpose: to bring laughter and joy to the world.
Trivia: While the time period of the movie isn't explicitly stated, the movies showing at the cinema the Waynes are at (Zorro The Gay Blade, Wolfen, Excalibur, and Arthur) were all released in 1981, making that the likely year it's set. The Zorro reference is certainly a nod to established comic continuity, where the Waynes were watching The Mark Of Zorro.
Question: Spoiler! The scene at the very end, with Arthur locked up talking to the doctor/social worker - is that meant to be later, after he's been captured again, or is it a flashback to when he was hospitalised before, as was referenced earlier in the movie?
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Answer: This is later, as the building appears to be Arkham. He's committed there instead of going to jail based on his insanity. It appears he is laughing about the death of Thomas Wayne, we see a flash of that scene again for a reason.
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