Year: 2022

Runtime: 92 minutes

Director: Vera Drew

Writers: Vera Drew, Bri LeRose

Actors: Vera Drew, Griffin Kramer, Lynn Downey, Kane Distler, Nathan Faustyn, David Liebe Hart, Phil Braun

By Taylor Hunsberger

Right out of the gate I can tell you that Vera Drew’s “The People’s Joker” is the most original and interesting piece of media I have seen in years. What Drew has managed to create is a miracle whose existence feels like a gift to this world in so many ways. The Altered Innocence film is out now in select theaters with an impending expansion in the weeks to come. All information about theatrical bookings and tickets for upcoming screenings can be found at www.thepeoplesjoker.com. 

Writer, director, editor, and star of “The People’s Joker,” Vera Drew pulled from her own coming out story as a transwoman to create her (current) magnum opus. The film includes 2D animation, stop-motion, and original songs to tell her story through the use of the world of Batman. Our heroine Joker the Harlequin (Vera Drew) makes her way to Gotham City in an attempt to make it as a comic in the city where comedy is against the law. Along the way she meets her first love (who resembles the Jared Leto version of The Joker), makes some friends, discovers her true identity, and contemplates the line between good and evil. It’s a hilarious ride rooted in great heart-wrenching truth, all told in the most queer form possible. “The People’s Joker” is a big, ever expanding metaphor, but Drew’s story is not masked in any way-and neither is she.

What is so unique about “The People’s Joker” is the way that it makes use of the nature of comic book stories. Comic books function in a way where each writer is able to rewrite these decades old characters in whatever way the story calls for. Drew makes use of multiple versions of The Joker and places them into the same universe–with all of them being trans characters. Drew’s “Joker the Harlequin” is on her journey of coming to terms with her trans identity while her lover “Mister J” is an out trans man who has visible top surgery scars. These are two different expressions and experiences of being trans–and though they are by no means representative of all trans people–it is a smart way to portray this story through existing characters. The Joker’s origin story is also often attributed to a failed attempt at becoming a standup comic and with Drew being a comic herself, it’s natural to see where she found the parallels to her own story. Drew further noted in a piece for New York Times that “Queer-coded villains are pretty much my favorite trope, and Joker has always been a really queer character to me.”

Using the formula of a comic book story while collaging together different mediums of filmmaking is a visual representation of Drew’s own experience. We see her come to terms with her identity by slowly trying new things, seeing what fits, and justifying each step along the way. The visual elements and production design of the film were also created by a huge team of primarily trans/queer artists emphasizing the communal nature of queer stories. This project is a group effort that was clearly made with a massive amount of love and dedication to its creation. Each person who has touched this film has put their signature onto it in order to weave together a truly unique piece of art. The visual language of the film is similar to that of the many versions of Gotham that already exist–it’s dark and moody, but there are pops of neon and alien glows that are reminiscent of the more playful comic book versions of the city, or perhaps the Joel Schumacher version. Each style is used in sections of the film that call for something that can only be represented by a medium that is outside the realm of reality. Batman is, after all, a comic. Merging animation with sequences of live-action works well and does not ever feel forced. This is a queer story told in a queer way–that is the simplest and most concise way to describe it. 

There is one point of disappointment that I do feel needs addressing and that is the use of the Magical Negro trope. The main plot of the film follows Joker the Harlequin as she works to make a career in comedy with her point of inspiration lying in Ra’s al Ghul (David Liebe Hart). By the end of the film al Ghul sits down with Joker as they talk out her personal realizations about herself. The pair have a heart to heart and al Ghul functions as the voice of reason in the conversation. Though he is shown to be the career to aspire to for Joker–he ultimately does not serve a purpose other than to move Joker’s emotional journey forward. In a film with a primarily white cast, it is noticeable and I wish that the part of the “guru” per se could have been designated to someone else to avoid including this harmful trope.

In the end, the emotional truth of “The People’s Joker” is ultimately what grounds Drew within her own film. Not only does Joker the Harlequin grapple with her own identity, she also grapples with her relationships with others. We see her experience a formative relationship with Mister J that is just as useful in learning to accept herself as it is harmful. Her experience with her mother is similar and shows the ups and downs of navigating the process of coming out to her. The tone of the film is pure over-the-top camp, yet we are witnessing a deeply personal narrative that keeps the film from ever feeling like its creation is more style than substance. By telling her story through a related work of comic book fiction is very similar to the act of telling a story through ancient myths. Comic books themselves are time capsules of their time and they function as pieces of American myth. The audience knows the stories of the characters and thus Drew is able to draw her audience in with this familiarity. And that’s the brilliance of relating personal experiences to myth. 

If you are lucky enough to live in a location with a screening of “The People’s Joker” I implore you–above all else–to dress up to the nines in what makes you feel your best, bring your queer friends, and make a party out of seeing this film. Vera Drew is a knock-out artist with an ambition and vision unlike anything that has come before. “The People’s Joker” is a true original fever dream reimagining of all of our quirky superhero fantasies that can only be experienced to be believed. Congrats to every single person responsible for its creation and I, for one, cannot wait to see what Drew thinks up next.