JOKER (ON TV)
(looks straight into
camera; screams Murray's
signature sign off)
GOOD NIGHT AND ALWAYS REMEMBER,--
*
THAT'S LIFE!
*
And as Joker waves goodbye to the home audience, a black &
*
white "INDIAN-HEAD TEST PATTERN" cuts off the show--
*
"PLEASE STAND BY"
HERB ALPERT'S "Spanish Flea" plays underneath.
Beat.
114.
121
INT. TALK SHOW SET, STAGE - CONTINUOUS
121
BACK LIVE IN THE STUDIO, JOKER'S TACKLED BY TWO SECURITY
*
GUARDS AND SOME STAGEHANDS, still hear screams of terror from *
the audience around him.
*
HIS FACE HITS THE SHINY FLOOR AS IF IN SLOW MOTION--
*
And we HEAR the soft and familiar opening to FERRANTE &
*
TEICHER's piano version of "Send in the Clowns".
*
CUT TO:
*
122
INT. GOTHAM SQUAD CAR (MOVING), GOTHAM STREETS - NIGHT
122
*
JOKER GAZING OUT THE WINDOW, at all the violence and madness
*
in the city. We only see it in the reflection of the glass... *
the fires burning... the mob crowding the streets. Joker's
*
handcuffed in the back of the squad car moving slowly through *
the rioting, sirens wailing, red lights flashing, blood still *
splattered on his face.
*
STAY ON JOKER'S FACE AS HE HEARS THE POLICE RADIO CRACKLING,
*
reports of rioters in "Joker" masks setting fires, breaking
*
windows, looting stores.
*
The images reflected in the window start to speed up as the
*
officer driving weaves faster through the chaos.
*
POLICE OFFICER #1 (OS)
*
Look what you caused, you freak,
*
the whole city's on fire because of
*
you.
*
AND JOKER BANGS HIS HEAD HARD AGAINST THE STEEL MESH CAGE--
*
BAM.
*
POLICE OFFICER #2 (OS)
*
Keep it up, asshole. Watch what
*
happens when we get to the station.
*
HE BANGS HIS HEAD AGAIN. BAM. BAM. Some blood is forming on
*
his forehead--
*
POLICE OFFICER #1 (OS)
*
(glancing at Joker in the
*
back seat, shouting)
*
-- Calm the fuck down, you're not
*
going anywhere!
*
And when the cop driving turns back, catch a glimpse of
*
someone or something running out into the street in front of
*
the speeding squad car--
*
115.
CLOSE ON JOKER AS THE SQUAD CAR SWERVES OUT OF THE WAY, Joker *
banging up against the door--
*
CRAAAASSSHHHHHH!!!!
*
The squad car hits a parked car hard and flips over, sliding
*
across the street on its roof--
*
123
EXT. SQUAD CAR (SLIDING), STREET - CONTINUOUS
123
*
SPARKS FLY UNTIL FINALLY THE UPSIDE DOWN SQUAD CAR COMES TO A *
STOP. Smoke rising from the wreck. Ferrante & Teicher's piano *
only version of "Send in the Clowns" still playing...
*
Both police officers in the front seat are either unconscious *
or dead. We see movement in the back seat, hard to tell
*
what's going on inside.
*
Suddenly the back door kicks open--
*
And Joker falls out of the car, landing hard on the street,
*
one hand free, handcuffs dangling from his other hand. Hear
*
sirens in the distance--
*
JOKER LEANS BACK AGAINST THE CAR, his face bloody, his body
*
broken from the crash. Sitting there amongst the wreckage,
*
can still see and hear the chaos, the fires burning all
*
around him. He reaches for a jagged shard of broken glass--
*
And pauses for moment catching his breath, hand holding the
*
jagged glass resting on his lap, wailing sirens getting
*
closer, looks like he's about to cut his wrists--
*
124
EXT. MOVIE THEATER, STREET - UPTOWN - CONTINUOUS
124
*
A WELL-HEELED CROWD LETTING OUT OF A MOVIE THEATER, the
*
violence has even reached up here, the nice part of town...
*
Sirens wailing, gangs of punks wearing "Joker" masks running
*
past, breaking car windows, fires burning... Catch a glimpse
*
of the lit up marquee listing the films playing, "Blow Out"
*
and "Zorro the Gay Blade". Hear "Send in the Clowns" still
*
playing...
*
FROM BEHIND SEE A SILHOUETTED COUPLE AND THEIR KID hurry down *
the dark side of the street, ducking into an alley to avoid
*
the chaos--
*
Catch a glimpse of a punk in a "Joker" mask following after
*
them pulling a gun--
*
116.
125
EXT. SQUAD CAR (UPSIDE DOWN), STREET - CONTINUOUS
125
*
Joker lifts the jagged shard of glass, handcuff swinging...
*
Passes by his wrist... And starts cutting into the slit on
*
one corner of his mouth, making his smile longer and wider.
*
Blood pouring down his face, onto his hand...
*
Joker tearing into the other side of his mouth, jagged glass
*
ripping into his flesh, spurting blood, handcuff swinging--
*
Sirens on top of him, red lights flashing over his face--
*
ANGLE ON JOKER LIT UP RED, done cutting his smile, letting go *
of the jagged bloody shard... Leans his head back against the *
squad car, and closes his eyes, covered in his own blood.
*
He's finished.
*
Now he is the Joker.
*
126
EXT. ALLEY, MOVIE THEATER - CONTINUOUS
126
*
FROM BEHIND, FAMILY IN THE SHADOWS sees the guy's eyes go
*
wide behind the mask, pointing his gun, music swelling--
*
PUNK
*
(shouting)
*
You still think we're all fucking
*
clowns?
*
And the punk shoots the man. Reaches out and grabs something
*
off the woman's neck before he shoots her as well. Both fall
*
to the gr
ound dead. Revealing their young son standing behind *
them--
*
CLOSE ON EIGHT-YEAR-OLD BRUCE WAYNE, closing his eyes as
*
blood sprays across his face. He opens his eyes and looks up
*
scared at the man in the "Joker" mask who killed his parents, *
Thomas and Martha Wayne. "Send in the Clowns" ends.
*
CUT TO BLACK.
*
A long beat.
*
HEAR LAUGHTER.
*
The sound of a man totally cracking up.
*
FADE IN:
*
127
INT. ARKHAM STATE HOSPITAL, INTERVIEW ROOM - MORNING
127
*
CLOSE ON JOKER, tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. He's *
enjoying it, not trying to get it under control.
*
117.
His head's been shaved. He looks medicated or maybe even
*
lobotomized. Wearing white institutional clothes.
*
HIS NEW SMILE IS ALL STITCHED UP, cut deep up the corners of
*
his mouth. Forming a longer, "happier" smile.
*
He's sitting across from an overworked HOSPITAL DOCTOR
*
(50's), African American woman. Somehow it's the exact same
*
room Joker imagined his mother was in some 30 years ago. The
*
room and the doctor also look vaguely similar to the social
*
worker and her office in the opening scene.
*
The doctor just sits there, waiting for him to stop laughing. *
A weathered notebook is on the table in front of him.
*
Finally, Joker stops himself.
*
HOSPITAL DOCTOR
*
What's so funny?
*
He takes a deep breath, his eyes are glazed over. His voice
*
is scratchy, like he doesn't use it much.
*
JOKER
*
-- just thinking of this joke.
*
HOSPITAL DOCTOR
*
Do you want to tell it to me?
*
Beat.
*
JOKER
*
No.
*
HOSPITAL DOCTOR
*
Because you don't think I'll get
*
it?
*
JOKER
*
Because it's personal, it's between
*
me and him.
*
Beat.
*
HOSPITAL DOCTOR
*
Okay. Is the medication working?
*
How's your sleeping?
*
JOKER
*
(nods yes)
*
...
*
HOSPITAL DOCTOR
*
How are you feeling?
*
118.
JOKER
*
Good. Everything's good now.
*
HOSPITAL DOCTOR
*
Have you been writing in your
*
journal?
*
Joker slowly nods.
*
HOSPITAL DOCTOR
*
Great. I want to make sure you're
*
keeping up with it.
*
JOKER
*
(beat)
*
Yeah.
*
HOSPITAL DOCTOR
*
Have you written about your
*
episode? About what happened?
*
JOKER
*
How I remember it.
*
HOSPITAL DOCTOR
*
(re: the journal)
*
Can I see?
*
Joker slides his journal across to her. She picks it up and
*
flips through the pages--
*
ANGLE ON JOURNAL, blank page after blank page, there's
*
nothing inside of it.
*
The doctor looks up at him confused.
*
ANGLE ON JOKER, a smile creeping across his face. And we HEAR *
the groovy organ opening to FRANK SINATRA's anthem "That's
*
Life"...
*
Beat.
*
128
INT. HALLWAY, ARKHAM STATE HOSPITAL - MORNING
128
*
From behind, see Joker shuffling down the hallway past all
*
the other mental patients, an orderly by his side. Sinatra
*
starts singing.
*
And Joker does a slide step to the music like he can hear it
*
too... into a skip... and another slide step into a spin...
*
Dancing down the hallway into the sunset...
*
IRIS OUT:
*
119.
"That's Life" keeps playing over credits.
*
The Joker (2019) Script Page 12