LONDON: Joaquin Phoenix's Oscar-winning starrer "Joker" is the most complained about film of 2019 in the United Kingdom.
This was revealed by British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). The BBFC report states that the DC origin movie received 20 complaints relating to the film's age classification, which is 15, reports digitalspy.com.
Complaints said that the BBFC should have classified the film as suitable for an 18-rating owing to its "violence and tone", while some people felt it should have been banned altogether.
The BBFC feel that the movie doesn't "dwell on the infliction of pain or injury in a manner that requires an 18", despite scenes of strong violence, including stabbings, shootings and blood.
While "Joker" received the most complaints in 2019, its total number is far less than the amount of complaints "Red Sparrow" received in 2018.
The Jennifer Lawrence-starrer was BBFC's most complained-about movie in 2018 with 64 complaints. The total number of complaints filed to the BBFC dropped by nearly half from 2018 to 2019. There were only 149 total complaints filed in 2019.
Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" had received a total of 364 complaints back in 2008.
Todd Phillips' "Joker" tells the story of the popular DC supervillain of the same name. The film traces the protagonist's early life as Arthur Fleck (essayed by Phoenix), who is an aspiring stand-up comedian struggling to make ends meet and constantly derided by society. The film narrates how circumstances push Fleck into the path of crime after he fails to find his way in Gotham's fractured society.
Apart from winning Oscars for Best Actor (Phoenix) and Best Original Score (Hildur Guonadottir), "Joker" was a global box-office success. The film's impact sparked conversations around mental health. A follow-up to the film is also in the works.