Michael Moore Calls ‘Joker’ a Masterpiece: ‘The Greater Danger to Society May Be If You Don’t See This Movie’
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Everyone has an opinion about “Joker,” and today, it’s Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore. The outspoken director sounded off on the most controversial movie of the year via a Facebook post Saturday morning. Todd Phillips’ revisionist DC origin story, starring Joaquin Phoenix, has already collected $40 million for its opening day, and is on track to become the biggest October opener ever. Below, read Moore’s Facebook post, pasted and embedded.
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“On Wednesday night I attended the New York Film Festival and witnessed a cinematic masterpiece, the film that last month won the top prize as the Best Film of the Venice International Film Festival. It’s called ‘Joker’ — and all we Americans have heard about this movie is that we should fear it and stay away from it. We’ve been told it’s violent and sick and morally corrupt — an incitement and celebration of murder. We’ve been told that police will be at every screening this weekend in case of ‘trouble.’ Our country is in deep despair, our constitution is in shreds, a rogue maniac from Queens has access to the nuclear codes — but for some reason, it’s a movie we should be afraid of.
“I would suggest the opposite: The greater danger to society may be if you DON’T go see this movie. Because the story it tells and the issues it raises are so profound, so necessary, that if you look away from the genius of this work of art, you will miss the gift of the mirror it is offering us. Yes, there’s a disturbed clown in that mirror, but he’s not alone — we’re standing right there beside him.
Moore goes on to discuss Donald Trump, China, Robert Mueller, Joe Biden, the media, Sandy Hook and the Columbine shooting, among other topics.
“‘Joker’ is no superhero or supervillain or comic book movie,” he writes. “I loved this film’s multiple homages to ‘Taxi Driver,’ ‘Network,’ ‘The French Connection,’ ‘Dog Day Afternoon.’ How long has it been since we’ve seen a movie aspire to the level of Stanley Kubrick?”
You can check out Michael Moore’s full impassioned “Joker” defense on Facebook.
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