Despite being one of the biggest box office failures of 2024, Joker was highly praised by Quentin Tarantino on a podcast
One of the greatest directors in the history of Hollywoodresponsible for films such as Pulp Fiction: Time of Violence (1994), Inglourious Basterds (2009), Kill Bill – Volume 1 (2003), Django Unchained (2012), Reservoir Dogs (1992) Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood (2019), Quentin Tarantino exalted Joker: Delirium for Twoone of the biggest failures of 2024 in theaters.
Despite the low box office and poor reception from the public and critics, Tarantino loved the film, as well as the performance of Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck/Joker. “I really, really liked it. A lot. Like, tremendously, and I went to see it hoping to be impressed with the production of the film,” he said in participation in the The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast when asked which recent films he had watched in cinemas. “But I thought it would be an extended intellectual exercise that I ultimately didn’t think would work as a film, but that I would enjoy for what it is.”
And I’m enough of a nihilist to enjoy a film that doesn’t exactly work as a film. This is like a big mess to some extent. And I didn’t think it was an intellectual exercise. I really got into it. I really liked the musical sequences. I got really involved. I thought the more banal the songs were, the better they were.
Right away, Tarantino compared Arthur Fleck and Lee Quinzelromantic partner of the protagonist played by Lady Gagathe Mickey and Mallorycouple of serial killers Natural Born Killers (1994): “As much as the first owes a debt to Taxi Driverthis seems very much indebted to Natural Born Killerswhich I wrote about. This is the Natural Born Killers that I would dream of seeing, like the guy who created Mickey and Mallory. I loved what they did with it. I loved the direction he took. I mean, the whole movie was a fever dream. Mickey Knox.”
Furthermore, the filmmaker commented how he found it very funny to have watched Joker: Delirium for Two in an almost empty IMAX theater in Tel Aviv, a city in Israel, where he was able to laugh without disturbing everyone, especially in scenes that are not funny.
Finally, Quentin Tarantino took the opportunity to praise the work of the director of the sequel to Joker (2019). “Todd Phillips and the Joker. THE Joker directed the film. The whole concept, even him spending the studio’s money – he’s spending it like the Joker would spend, right? And then your big surprise gift – haha! – the monkey in the box, when he offers you his hand for a handshake and you get a buzzer with 10,000 volts shooting at you – it’s the comic book geeks,” he said.
He’s saying f*** you to all of them. He’s saying f*** you to the film’s audience. He’s saying f*** you to Hollywood. He’s saying f*** you to anyone who owns shares in A.D and from Warner Brothers […] AND Todd Phillips and the Joker. A Joker filmokay, it is what it is. He is the Joker.
Source: Rollingstone
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
