Joker Director Todd Phillips Refuses to Point Out What Arthur Did And Didn’t Imagine

DC's Joker movie had a few scenes imagined by the mentally ill Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) and because of that, fans have been wondering what exactly is real in the film. While director Todd Phillips has a good grasp on what was and wasn't imagined by Fleck in the movie, the filmmaker says he's leaving viewers to their own interpretation of the film.

Phillips just recently spoke in an interview with Empire to discuss his gritty character study of Gotham's Clown Prince of Crime and during the discussion with the entertainment news outlet (via ComicBook.com), the filmmaker decided to address the popular fan speculation that Joker might have entirely been the by-product of Arthur Fleck's imaginings.

"You could (read it that way)," Phillips responded when asked to comment about the fan theory, "I have a firm view on it too, but yeah, you certainly could."

There were several scenes in the film cut in a way to make audiences feel like the moment was happening to Arthur Fleck. However, the movie would, later on, reveal that these scenes were only the result of the character's mentally-ill mind. These scenes include the warm reception on The Murray Franklin Show together with Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro) as well as all the relationship moments between Arthur Fleck and Sophie (Zazie Beetz).

It's interesting that Phillips refuses to draw the line between what's real and what isn't in Joker to appease the audience. Instead, the director leaves viewers to their own interpretations of the film, giving the audience their own freedom to see the film as they see it.

Joker is currently screening in cinemas.

Read: The Batman: Jason Alexander Volunteers To Play Penguin in Robert Pattinson Film