Ultimately, viewers will be the ones who decide if Joker was worth the backlash or not, but it definitely played in its favor as it drew the attention of many. The film, although based on Alan Moore’s graphic novel The Killing Joke, is mostly an original story that gives the Clown Prince of Crime a new origin. It follows Arthur Fleck, a failed stand-up comedian who turns to a life of crime after being constantly neglected by society. Joker touches on topics like mental illness and gun control, and it’s the former that has made many viewers believe that what they saw was all in Arthur’s head – and the film offers some clues to support the idea.

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The biggest clue that points at Joker happening in Arthur’s head is the clock shown at the social services office, the first time viewers tag along with Arthur for his visit, and the one on the last scene, where Arthur is talking to a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum. Both clocks show the same time – 11:11, which wouldn’t mean much if Arthur wasn’t an unreliable narrator and hadn’t shown a tendency to imagine different scenarios. In fact, during the first meeting with the social worker, it’s mentioned that Arthur was committed to a psychiatric hospital in the past, and a quick scene shows him in a cell, banging his head on the door.

The last scene shows him in a similar, all white cell, and the detail of the clock gives the idea that everything that happened between those scenes was all in Arthur’s head, and he was in Arkham the whole time. This raises another question about the ending, where Arthur leaves the cell and the soles of his shoes are painted with blood, presumably that of the psychiatrist. If it was all in his head, did this last murder happen? Or was it also part of his fantasies?

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Joker’s ending was left intentionally ambiguous, and Phillips has refused to shed some light on the matter, so for now, it’s up to viewers to figure out how much of it was real, what was a fantasy, and what the final joke was about – and there surely is more to be analyzed about the film, so there might be some clues waiting to be uncovered.

Key Release Dates
  • Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)Release date: Feb 07, 2020
  • Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)Release date: Dec 25, 2020
  • The Batman (2022)Release date: Mar 04, 2022
  • The Suicide Squad (2021)Release date: Aug 06, 2021
  • DC League of Super-Pets (2022)Release date: Jul 29, 2022
  • Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)Release date: Mar 17, 2023
Jason Segel Was Forced To Live With Kevin Hart While Filming A Pilot

About The Author


Adrienne Tyler
(3273 Articles Published)

Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

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When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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