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"If I’m going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice!" - The Joker, from Batman: The Killing Joke (1988).
I've recently started work on recutting Joker after coming across this post a while ago. The edit will be largely based on the aforementioned post, with some changes of my own. Joker was an interesting film that was largely inspired by The King of Comedy and Taxi Driver by Scorsese - two great films I highly recommend you go watch - but I thought it'd be interesting to rework it so that it followed a more ambiguous route - after all, the Joker's backstory has always been a mystery and reworking the film in this way keeps it as such.
Warning - significant spoilers ahead for Joker (2019).
The film now follows 4 arcs.
Planned cuts so far
1st arc (I Have A Condition)
In addition, I thought it'd be interesting to regrade the arcs to give each a different feel. Thought I'd give the 1st arc (I Have A Condition) a Sin City-style high contrast recolour, somehow make the 2nd arc (Clowning Around) brighter and more colourful, and give the 3rd arc (Happy) a blue regrade to match the cooler mood. The asylum scenes would also be bright and high contrast. I want to make the 4th arc look like something out of the 80s since that's the setting and Murray's show has an 80s feel to it, no idea how I'd do it though. And might do a some rescoring as the original score is quite repetitive, plus each arc should have a different mood and therefore a different score. If anyone has any ideas, I'm happy to hear them.
I've recently started work on recutting Joker after coming across this post a while ago. The edit will be largely based on the aforementioned post, with some changes of my own. Joker was an interesting film that was largely inspired by The King of Comedy and Taxi Driver by Scorsese - two great films I highly recommend you go watch - but I thought it'd be interesting to rework it so that it followed a more ambiguous route - after all, the Joker's backstory has always been a mystery and reworking the film in this way keeps it as such.
Warning - significant spoilers ahead for Joker (2019).
The film now follows 4 arcs.
- 1: I Have A Condition - We see a man putting on clown makeup whilst the radio talks of extreme poverty and garbage. The same man, Arthur, is seen talking to a therapist about his problems and asks for more medication. On the way home, he is harassed by three men, and begins nervously laughing. Whilst trying to explain to the men that he has a condition, he is attacked. Arthur then proceeds to shoot and kill all three men. Later at home with his mother, they hear news of the killings, with Thomas Wayne describing the killer and those in general who envy the rich as "clowns". Arthur simply laughs at this. During another meeting with his therapist, he is told the clinic is being shut down due to government cuts, to which Arthur wonders where he will get his medication from. Back at home, Arthur hears of protests on TV, with the protests donning clown masks. Arthur dresses up in full makeup and a suit to join the protests, but on the way their is spotted by police officers, who chase him onto a train, where he dissappears among the protesters.
- Seemingly in an asylum, Arthur laughs at this version of events, in which he got away. Cut to the next arc.
- 2: Clowning Around - A clown spins an advertising sign when he is attacked by several youngsters. He runs after them but is beaten and has his sign broken. Later, Randall offers him a gun to defend himself. Arthur's boss threatens to fire him over losing the sign. During a performance at a hospital for kids, he drops his gun. He is reported and fired after Randall snitches on him - Arthur publicly blames Randall for giving him the gun. Later, we find out Arthur's mother is in hospital following a stroke. Whilst outside the hospital, he is questioned by police officers for bringing a gun into a children's hospital. Arthur's mother dies offscreen. Later, Arthur is visited by two former colleagues, one whom is Randall, to offer condolonces over his mother's death, which Arthur does not seem upset about. Arthur then kills Randall but lets his other colleague leave.
- Arthur laughs but then begins to almost cry. Cut to the next arc.
- 3: Happy - Arthur lives with his mother, Penny, who nicknames him Happy. They live in poverty. Happy wishes to become a comedian, whilst Penny seeks financial support from her former employer, Thomas Wayne. One day, Arthur finds a letter from Penny addressed to Thomas which says Arthur is Thomas' son. Arthur sets out to find Thomas. He first visits Thomas' house and talks to his son, Bruce, but his confronted by the butler, Alfred. On the way home, he sees his mother rushed to the hospital, having suffered a stroke. Whilst in her hospital room, a woman appears to comfort Arthur, but then dissappears. Arthur then disguises himself and enters a theatre, where he confronts Thomas Wayne, who dismisses Penny as unstable and her claims about Arthur being his son as false. Arthur then visits Arkham State Hospital, where his mother had previously been, where he steals documents relating to his mother and finds out she had adopted him and allowed him to be abused as a child by her boyfriend, causing his mental illnesses. Angered, Arthur returns to the hospital and smothers his mother.
- Arthur laughs and is asked by the psychiatrist "what's so funny?". He replies "you wouldn't get it". Cut to the final arc.
- 4: That's Life - Arthur and his mother are fans of the comedian Murray Franklin. Arthur imagines himself as friends with Murray, and aspires to be a comedian himself. He attends a standup show and makes notes but laughs at the wrong times. He later does his own standup but laughs uncontrollably. Whilst watching Murray's show, he sees himself appear, and Murray mocks him and his performance, calling Arthur a joker - Arthur is livid. Suprisingly, he receives a call from Murray's showbooker to appear as a guest on Murray's show. Oddly enough, Arthur dresses up in full clown makeup and a costume. It's then revealed on the radio that there has been clown-related violence in recent days. Arthur denies relation to the clown protesters, but then during the show, Arthur claims credit for three public murders and inspiring protests - calling back to the 1st arc - and proceeds to kill Murray in rage. Arthur is arrested but whilst being driven to jail, protesters wearing clown masks attack the car and free Arthur. Thomas Wayne and his wife are killed by one of the protesters, whilst Arthur dances on a car.
- End on Arthur in the asylum, leaving behind bloody footprints.
Planned cuts so far
1st arc (I Have A Condition)
- Cut Arthur on the bus with the kid. Although this scene provides exposition, I thought it best to leave Arthur's condition be ambigious, plus there is a clash here as the very next scene is Arthur on a train - didn't want to go from a bus scene to a train screne.
- Trimmed scene where Arthur and Sophie see the poster so that they are not walking together, she is just a random person who talks to Arthur.
- Cut shots of Arthur at the first protest, as the next scene is him going out in clown makeup and running into protesters on the train.
- Cut Arthur playing with the gun and accidently firing it.
- Cut mention of the train killings as Arthur clears out of work.
- Trim Sophie from the scene where Arthur is at hospital.
- Cut Arthur meeting Sophie, stalking her, inviting her to his standup, their relationship, her at the standup, Arthur entering her apartment. Reason: her presence had no relevance to any of the four arcs, felt like a Fight Club-inspired idea that was tacked on.
Zoomed in during the bit where Murray mocks Arthur as Arthur's mother is in the background in the hospital bed.Allowed this in as an example of the storylines overlapping due to an unreliable narrator.Cut Arthur preparing his suicide on Murray's show and in the dressing room. Arthur is motivated to go on the show by anger towards Murray and plans to kill him.Decided to leave this in as an example of the storylines bleeding into each other, and to mislead the audience. Did cut the first preparation though.- Cut shot in asylum implying Arthur is laughing at Thomas' murder.
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. A few months ago I stumbled upon the same thread on Reddit and decided to make my own expansion and cutlist out of this idea. It was supposed to be: JOKER: PORTRAITS OF A SAD CLOWN. I appreciate it that you've taken the helm of the project. More ambiguous approach is what this film needs as after a few viewings the original movie becomes too boring to follow as you already know the story well. In your edit it'll be much more interesting to connect all the dots and see if we can make something out of these contrived story lines from Joker's mind.
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