Forget the violence, we need to talk about Joker’s raw and necessary view of mental illness

Forget the violence, we need to talk about Joker’s raw and necessary view of mental illness

Forget the violence of Joker – Joaquin Phoenix’s epic is in the perfect place to start conversation around how the mentally ill are treated.

When it comes to the Todd Phillips-directed flick, it paints a startlingly realistic and sad picture of the perception of people with mental illness by the public. It’s uncomfortable, it’s awkward and it’s 100% something we need to realise is happening around us, not just in Gotham City.

The violence of the film and the conversation around incels and gun control has overshadowed an important message of mental illness.

Phoenix stars as the titular character, virtually living in solitary squalor with his invalid mother (played by Frances Conroy), working as a clown-for-hire as he tries to get his stand-up comedy career on the tracks, and finding the only enjoyment in life from watching late-night talk show Murray Franklin (a smarmy Robert De Niro).




As he takes humiliation, abuse and abandonment, Fleck starts to lose his grip as we see him try to form some sense of the world around him and why it treats him with such disdain.

We see Fleck in and out of failing counselling sessions, his social worker growing more frustrated with his inability to truthfully describe his ‘negative thoughts’ before his necessary appointments are cut altogether and he’s on his own, also unable to receive his medication.

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No longer able to talk with anyone and unable to get his medication, it serves to facilitate the character’s slow mental unravelling.

As he writes in a notepad during the film: ‘The worst part about having a mental illness is people expect you to behave as if you don’t.’

For anyone who has any form of mental illness, feeling like you have to hide any facets of it (be it anxiety, depression, bipolar, something else, all of the above…) in order to be ‘accepted’ or ‘fit in’ with those around you, because society is largely unwilling to accept mental illness, is a daily struggle.

Fleck had his counselling cut (Picture: Warner Bros)

That and the inability to be truly heard by those who are employed to help, as it might feel at times, such as when Joker laments his counsellor for ‘not really listening’ to what he has to say.

From misdiagnosis to long waiting lists that see some mentally ill people wait months to see a counsellor (if they’re unable to pay the high fees of doing it privately), mental health care this side of the screen similarly leaves a lot to be desired.

Last year it was found mental ill health accounts for 28% of the overall disease burden yet receives just 13% of NHS funding. And according to a report by the TUC last year, in 2013 there was one mental health doctor for every 186 patients accessing services which, in 2018, fell to to one for every 253 patients. This is no bash on the good work the NHS does do for mental health, with that same report explaining the increase in funding the government was planning to spend on mental health services in the coming years. But whether and where it is allocated still remains to be seen.

His mental illness is not glossed over (Picture: WB)

Where Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight may have merely been ‘kooky’ – violently deranged, yes, however clinically depressed and prone to hanging out in fridges, perhaps not – Phillips’ take is a confronting view of the state of play.



This is the reality.

Joker might be a work of fiction, but it is very much rooted in real-world mental health care, which is seldom represented on screen in such a raw manner, as was Phillips’ aim.

Speaking of one of the protagonist’s mental health issues, most visibly his spontaneous and cackling laugh as part of a neurological condition known as pseudobulbar affect, Phillips said the symptom stemmed from head trauma, which is explored further in Fleck’s backstory and something they researched to portray it realistically.

Both Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix defended the film (Picture: M. Angeles Salvador/MEGA)

While Phoenix himself wanted viewers to know his violent acts were inexcusable, he was still able to look at Fleck’s issues with compassion.

Which is sometimes all people with mental illness want – compassion and understanding.

‘When I first read it, a lot of his behaviour and actions I felt were despicable,’ he told IndieWire. ‘I saw that in certain moments he was in fight or flight. I recognised these signs that allowed me to think about him differently. It’s hard not to have sympathy for somebody who experienced that level of childhood trauma: an overstimulated medulla looks for and perceives danger everywhere.

‘For someone in that state, does it mean his actions make sense or are justified? Obviously not. There’s a point where he crosses the line where I am no longer able to stick by his side. But it allowed me to approach him with less judgment and more compassion than what I had when I first read the script.’


If you strip away the negative reviews about Joker and whether or not the film had the ‘Taxi Driver-level of context’ in which to explore mental health properly, it’s at least started the discussion around mental illness and how the mentally ill are viewed.

Because we’re talking about it here, right?

The film isn’t solely responsible for eliciting change, it’s there to make us think, question how to react and look at how we treat one another.

If this film causes audiences to look inwards and start a debate around the need for better mental health services, that might be considered a bonus.

But as you walk of the cinema, it should at the very least encourage you to be a little more understanding to those who are suffering.

Joker is in cinemas today.

Need support? Contact the Samaritans For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.

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