Joker is a joyless and dour character study, melancholic, heartbreaking but always absorbing. It’s a wonderfully written, superbly crafted, unnerving and frankly uncomfortable telling of a sad man. A broken man with a deeply tortured soul. A literal clown (he works at a company called ‘Hahas’) suffering from severe depression and who tries to justify — and perhaps understand — his mental instability by pointing towards the escalating volatility of Gotham City. I love the film to pieces. So it brings me nothing but joy that Warner Bros. is pushing for the film to receive Oscar nominations at the 2020 Academy Awards in multiple categories. Today, the studio revealed the list of categories for which they are pushing for Joker to be considered. Unsurprisingly, WB is pushing Joaquin Phoenix to receive a Best Actor nod. They’re also pushing Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz (surprising, given that she was more of a presence than an actual character) and Frances Conroy for Best Supporting Actor/Actress. The studio is also gunning for the entire cast to get a nod in the Best Ensemble category. Apart from the acting categories, Warner Bros is also hoping for a Best Picture nod, Best Adapted Screenplay (Todd Phillips & Scott Silver) and Best Director (Todd Phillips), not to mention a bunch of technical categories as well. Here’s the full list of categories on its “For Your Consideration” list: Joker is currently playing in Malaysian cinemas.
