© Warner Bros.
Adrian Raine did not go into his
screening of
Joker last Friday with lofty expectations. The neurocriminologist is a
pioneer in researching the minds of violent criminals, having been the first person to use brain imaging to study murderers. Truthfully, the revered British researcher — who devoted decades of his life to understanding what makes criminals tick — just wasn't that much of a Batman fan. So when he stepped into a Darlington, England, screening of the
controversial Todd Phillips film, it was mostly to spend quality time with his nephews while on break from his professorial duties at the University of Pennsylvania.
But what Raine saw onscreen stunned him. According to the neurocriminologist,
the script — from Phillips and Scott Silver — authentically traces the way a man could be driven to deeply troubling acts of violence by a combination of genetics, childhood trauma, untreated mental illness, and societal provocation. And though Raine was not sure how to pronounce
Joaquin Phoenix's name, the neurocriminologist was staggered by the nuance and grim grace the Oscar-nominated actor brought to the role —
summoning the odd behavior, appearance, and social tics exhibited by those who suffer from certain personality disorders. Predicted the neurocriminologist, "He's sure to be in the Oscar race."
"[The film] was
a surprisingly accurate prediction of the kind of background and circumstances which, when combined together, make a murderer," said Raine, who was already considering integrating
Joker into a forthcoming course at the University of Pennsylvania. "For 42 years, I've studied the cause of crime and violence. And while watching this film, I thought, Wow, what a revelation this was. I need to buy this movie down the road, make excerpt clips of it to illustrate [...]
It is a great educational tool about the making of the murderer. That threw me," confessed Raine, still surprised by how much he appreciated the film. "I talk about all of these factors in the class, and honestly, it's really hard to get a true-life story that fits all of these pieces together, let alone a very dramatic and stylized movie that illustrates these factors quite strongly.
That was really a revelation."
[
Spoilers ahead for those who have not yet seen Joker.]
Comment: For more on reincarnation and Dr. Stevenson's work, see: