Warner Bros.

It goes without saying, the new Joker movie is brilliant! It’s an excellent character-driven movie, which delves into some important societal and mental health issues and gives us a new insight into Gotham City. Despite already enjoying the movie, you could have missed some smaller details that help to make this movie something special. Read on to find out what you could have missed.

Arthur doesn’t eat a bite

Warner Bros.

During the movie we never see Arthur eat at all. While it is not uncommon for this to happen in movies, it is pretty clear that this was a decision made by the movie’s director.

Joaquin Phoenix actually lost 52 pounds to ready himself for the character of Arthur Fleck. Perhaps Arthur’s maltreated, skeletal form could be interpreted as a person who lacks humanity even neglecting taking care of himself. Arthur’s form also shows the viewer evidence of his horrific childhood trauma, which definitely forms some of his behavior seen in the film. Another interesting observation is that when we see Arthur climbing into the fridge it is pretty much empty of food, so we are pretty certain Arthur not eating on screen was a decision made by the director.

The fridge scene

Warner Bros.

This scene is just plain weird and many of us don’t really know why Arthur chose to climb into his fridge to laugh maniacally. Some viewers have theorized that Arthur needed a place to be alone in order to laugh it out. Others think that this may have something to with his traumatic childhood. Perhaps Arthur finds comfort in the cold or maybe he is just losing his mind. Only the creator of the movie can say for sure, but either way, it adds greatly to Arthur’s deterioration into madness.   

Arthur starts to gain control of his laugh

Warner Bros.

When we first meet Arthur, at the beginning of the movie, we see him laughing uncontrollably due to a neurological condition he got from enduring abuse as a child. We even see him handing out a card, which explains his condition to those around him.

As the movie progresses, we watch Arthur begin to control his laughter and in the scene where he’s interviewed by Murray Franklin, we even see Arthur laugh at appropriate times. It could be argued that his laugh becomes more controllable as Arthur comes to accept his mania and begins to thrive in the chaos he has created.

When Arthur tries to fit in with society, in the first act, he is miserable and this is depicted by his uncontrolled laughter. Later in the movie, as Arthur comes to accept his madness, he transforms into a confident yet insane man. This depiction gives us an excellent insight into how serious mental illness can consume a person if left unchecked and is some great writing.

The Joker has three types of laugh

Warner Bros.

The most memorable is the quintessential Joker laugh, which in this movie almost makes Arthur choke. What you may not have noticed, however, are the two other laughs the joker uses.

The first one is a Arthur’s real laugh, which he uses to laugh at things that are actually supposed to be funny. This laugh is quite rare in the movie, and almost always appears in Arthur’s imagined scenarios.

Finally is Arthur’s fake laugh. This is the laugh that Arthur tries to use in order to fit into society. When we usually see him do this, his laugh seems just a little bit crazy and throws off the people around him. These three laughs are depicted on-screen greatly by Joaquin Phoenix and maybe they are just enough to get him that oscar nod.

The stairs

Warner Bros.

It’s an already well-known scene but the way the iconic stairs are backdropped against other stairs is worth discussing. Earlier in the movie, we see Arthur returning home climbing the stairs to his apartment. Here, the climb is dark, Arthur’s body language is that of a beaten and defeated man, who feels that he isn’t living the life he wants.

When we contrast this with the final stairway scene, Arthur has accepted his fate and as he dances down the steps, we see his descent into madness and we know what is to come for Gotham City’s most famous villain.

The Joker doesn’t need a mask

Warner Bros.

During the city-wide riots, Arthur throws his clown mask into the trash and the camera chooses the linger there for just a moment. This could show that Arthur has chosen to reject the mask he has been told to wear: throughout the film, Arthur is told that he must conform to society, he must put on a mask of happiness and pretend to be someone that he is not in reality. Arthur throwing his clown mask into the trash shows the viewer that he will no longer hide his true self even if the self is a maniacal, murderous villain.

Arthur never suffers from his afflictions while daydreaming

Warner Bros.

The movie contains quite a lot of imaginary scenes, which we later learn are all in Arthur’s head. During these scenes, we never see Arthur’s uncontrollable laugh emerge, which is great little tell that Arthur is in his own head. This little difference is great to observe on a second watch so we would recommend you do that as soon as possible.

These little details all add up and show us just how well thought out and well made the new Joker movie really is. Do you think we have missed any other things?