lionhead

20th May 2021

Joker (2019)

Question: When the ambulance rams the police car Arthur's in was this accidental or intentional? If intentional how'd the guy driving it know Arthur would be in it?

Rob245

Answer: I think they intentionally rammed a police car, not because Joker was in it but simply because it was a police car.

lionhead

Answer: I think the guy stole the ambulance and intentionally rammed the police car because they were rioting against the police.

26th May 2020

Joker (2019)

Question: Is it just me or did he fire 8 times with a gun that only holds 5 rounds at a time? I am referring to the subway scene where Joker got his first kills of course.

Hookemhamm14

Answer: I counted 4 shots on the train and 3 shots on the platform. Someone submitted a mistake about this, then someone corrected it saying he could have reloaded, then someone commented it's unlikely. I find it unlikely that he reloaded when on the train because on the platform he shoots 3 times and then dry fires 2 more times because he's out of rounds but doesn't seem to realise. So you'd have to say he had the wherewithal to reload a gun that's not empty, or only had 4 rounds in it for some reason, but reloaded it with only 2 or 3 more rounds, and then forgot how many rounds he just reloaded it with.

Bishop73

He has time to reload so it's plausible, that's all it takes really. Arthur is out of his mind at that moment, having just been beaten up again and working purely on adrenaline and blind rage. I doubt he is counting his shots. Does fit him though that when he saw the 3rd guy run he wanted to kill him too but wasn't sure if his gun was empty so he loaded 2 more bullets before he exited the train.

lionhead

12th Feb 2020

Joker (2019)

Question: My question's twofold: 1. Why does he do that dance down the stairs, for fun maybe? 2. When he speaks about comedy being subjective is this a knock on modern comedians and their controversial jokes and skits?

Rob245

Answer: 1 - Why does he dance a bunch of times in the movie? It's kinda his thing! You can see that Murray himself does little goofy dances all the time during his show and Arthur sorta seems to have taken that trait from him. 2 - I have heard that "comedy is subjective" for years and years. It is sort of a truism but it does fit, some people like a certain kind of humor that can fall completely flat for others. I am not sure if you should read some specificity about it in this movie, except for the fact that obviously he's using it to justify his own actions to the point of considering 'funny' to commit murder in the context of the perspective change when he starts considering his tragic life a whole big joke with no punchline. I don't really see in this movie a satire of show business or shock comedy, since it seems to focus on other themes (mental illness, emargination, etcetera).

Sammo

Answer: 1. It's supposed to be a highly emotional moment for him, the first time he takes control of his own life. He basically celebrates that. 2. I think he is referring to Murray, or at least something in-universe. This is all of course speculative.

lionhead

17th Oct 2019

Joker (2019)

Question: One thing confused me. If Penny Fleck abused Arthur and was confined to Arkham, why was Arthur living with her for most of the film, wouldn't he have been separated from her by the state?

Answer: In the movie Arthur is an adult. He would have been separated from her as a child but, once he turned 18, if he wanted to live with his mother as soon as she was released nobody could stop that.

lionhead

12th Oct 2019

Joker (2019)

Question: Does Arthur kill Sophie when he realises he's hallucinated their relationship? I know there may not be a concrete answer to this.

Brian Katcher

Answer: Yeah it's completely up to the viewer to believe he killed her or not. I don't think he did, he liked her, just like Gary. I think he visited to see if it was all in his head, with that confirmed he just left.

lionhead

Answer: Todd Philips actually answered this in an interview on IndieWire; "As the filmmaker and the writer I am saying he doesn't kill her. We like the idea that it's almost like a litmus test for the audience to say, 'How crazy is he?' Most people that I've spoken to think he didn't kill her because they understand the idea that he only kills people that did him wrong. She had nothing to do with it. Most people understood that, even as a villain, he was living by a certain code. Of course he didn't kill this woman down the hall."

Sammo

7th Oct 2019

Joker (2019)

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?

Jon Sandys

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.

lionhead

Chosen answer: I think it's meant to be deliberately ambiguous. I took at as him being locked up for his crimes, but others have commented that they think he was always locked up and the entire movie takes place in his head.

Phaneron

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