Joker, for which Joaquin Phoenix bag his first Academy Award For Best Actor, has emerged as United Kingdom's most complained about film of 2019. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) made the announcement.
According to the BBFC report, 20 complaints were received against the DC origin movie, which was related to the film's age classification of 15. The complaints stated that the film should have been classified as suitable for an 18-rating by the BBFC due to its tone and violence, with some calling for its ban altogether.
Complaints Lesser Than in 2018
The BBFC felt that the movie doesn't "dwell on the infliction of pain or injury in a manner that requires an 18", despite scenes of strong violence, including stabbings, shootings and blood, reported digitalspy.com. While Joker received the most complaints in 2019, its total number is far less than the number of complaints Red Sparrow received in 2018.
The Jennifer Lawrence-starrer was BBFC's most complained-about movie in 2018 with 64 complaints. The total number of complaints filed to the BBFC dropped by nearly half from 2018 to 2019. There were only 149 total complaints filed in 2019. Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight had received a total of 364 complaints back in 2008.
An Origin Story of a Fractured Supervillain
Todd Phillips' Joker tells the story of the popular DC supervillain of the same name. The film traces the protagonist's early life as Arthur Fleck (essayed by Phoenix), who is an aspiring stand-up comedian struggling to make ends meet and constantly derided by society. The film narrates how circumstances push Fleck into the path of crime after he fails to find his way in Gotham's fractured society.
Apart from winning Oscars for Best Actor (Phoenix) and Best Original Score (Hildur Guonadottir), Joker was a global box-office success. The film's impact sparked conversations around mental health. A follow-up to the film is also in the works.
(With inputs from agencies)
relating to the film's age classification
