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class="RubricLk-gRWSOU fgWnkQ bric__lk" href="/magaze/the-current-cema"><span class="RubricName-fVtemz cLxcNi">The Current Cema</span></a></div></div></div><h1 data-ttid="ContentHearHed" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ ContentHearHed-NCyCC iUEiRd NbxED hpJvIc">Todd Phillips’s “Joker” Is No Lghg Matter</h1></div><div class="ContentHearAccredatn-lfctVB enhwXT ntent-hear__accredatn" data-ttid="ContentHearAccredatn"><div class="ContentHearDek-bIqFFZ Mtme">Trailg clouds of ntroversy, Joaqu Phoenix, the tle role, v to watch his wrongns grow out of ntrol and swell to vlence.</div><div class="ContentHearByle-kmPyCa gvUmxJ"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW jvZaPI rponsive-asset ContentHearContributorImage-cvjZXn jKACOU"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa ContentHearContributorImage-cvjZXn jKACOU rponsive-image"><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w" siz="66px"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w" siz="66px"/><img alt="" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></picture></span><div class="ContentHearByleContent-dpPmNn DRFq"><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl ContentHearByl-cZqgyJ bqbBYQ"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH ivtvgj byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd jslZfG gnILss byle__preamble">By </span><a class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BaseLk-eNWuiM ByleLk-gEnFiw iUEiRd ggMZaT cXqSTL eErqIx byle__name-lk button" href="/ntributors/anthony-lane">Anthony Lane</a></span></span></p></div><time data-ttid="ContentHearPublishDate" dateTime="2019-09-27T05:00:00-04:00" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ ContentHearPublishDate-eIBicG iUEiRd kYZrFA kEBrdf">September 27, 2019</time></div></div></div></div><div class="LightboxWrapper-dxsWBV hhylRt"><div class="ContentHearLeadAsset-hGbumP iWPCcH lead-asset ContentHearLeadAssetWrapper-hfXHEc fTrSlG lead-asset--width-smallle" data-ttid="ContentHearLeadAsset"><figure class="ContentHearLeadAssetContent-kOfYSG dRGWbI"><div class="ContentHearLeadAssetContentMedia-bLEIpi jjhWdS lead-asset__ntent__photo"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW jvZaPI rponsive-asset ContentHearRponsiveAsset-bREgIb khLUzS"><div data-tt="aspect-rat-ntaer" class="AspectRatContaer-bJHpJz jdtgZk"><div class="aspect-rat--overlay-ntaer"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO KhjZz ContentHearRponsiveAsset-bREgIb khLUzS rponsive-image rponsive-image--expandable"><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w, 1920w, 2240w" siz="100vw"/><img alt="Joker" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></picture></div></div></span><div class="CaptnWrapper-jSZdqE iTuhkZ ptn ContentHearLeadAssetCaptn-hPWmSN kuCzGS"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ CaptnText-bHjzlu iUEiRd hWyo iXWezO ptn__text">Followg Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger, Joaqu Phoenix wears the supervilla’s greasepat, Todd Phillips’s film.</span><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ CaptnCred-ejegDm iUEiRd iicloT jbIJNS ptn__cred">Illtratn by Zohar Lazar</span></div></div></figure><div data-ttid="ContentHearLeadRailAnchor" class="ContentHearLeadRailAnchor-jYVcDc djtEof"></div></div></div></div></hear></div><div data-attribute-verso-pattern="article-body" class="ArticlePageContentBackGround-cNiFNN kbAoLA article-body__ntent"><div class="ActnBarWrapperContent-lasBkU cAHp"><div class="ActnBarWrapperComponent-cjwxLS bEeSLb"><div data-attr-viewport-monor="" class="ActnBarWrapper-dhxmQh kNjTbQ viewport-monor-anchor"><button id="bookmark" aria-label="Save this story" class="ActnBarButton-dyFOZU hQrwCF bookmark large-screen"><span 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23.9508L12.5 19.7312L5 23.9508V2.95081H14V3.93211H6V22.1845L12.5 18.5536L19 22.1845V8.83866H20V23.9508Z"></path><path class="in-bookmark-fill" d="M23 3H20V0H19V3H16V4H19V7H20V4H23V3Z"></path></svg></span><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ ActnBarButtonText-bYXYuh iUEiRd bkefvo gkccfO">Save this story</span></button></div></div></div><div class="LightboxWrapper-dxsWBV hhylRt"><div class="ArticlePageChunksContent-etcMtP bwyLBj"><div data-ttid="ArticlePageChunks" class="ArticlePageChunks-fLyCVG Uozmo"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hfxa bjczjj grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div class="BodyWrapper-kufPGa EOneK body body__ntaer article__body" data-journey-hook="client-ntent" data-ttid="BodyWrapper"><div class="body__ner-ntaer"><p class="has-dropp has-dropp__lead-standard-headg">At the begng of “Joker,” Arthur Fleck (Joaqu Phoenix), seated ont of a mirror, hooks a fger to each rner of his mouth, and pulls. Up, then down: a gr, a grimace. We are meant to thk of the masks, ic and tragic, that were worn by the actors ancient Greek drama. Over the next uple of hours, those two moods will be weld together, until we n’t tell the light om the dark.</p><p class="paywall">Arthur is a clown, and a would-be ic, but he’s really not funny at all. So badly do he bomb at a edy club that footage of his set is replayed on televisn. That’s the joke. He liv Gotham Cy, which, as everybody knows, equals New York Cy m the peace and the pastoral bliss. The year, by my reckong, is 1981, sce “<a href=">Blow Out</a>” and “Zorro: The Gay Bla” are advertised on cema marque. Other highlights clu a garbage strike. Arthur works for a clown agency, and one of his jobs is to stand on the street a red nose and a green wig, holdg a promotnal sign for a lol store. When some kids grab the sign, he giv chase, his enormo sho clompg on the siwalk. Another clown lends him a gun, for safety’s sake, but drops out of Arthur’s stume, clatterg to the floor, while he’s entertag children a hospal ward and sgg “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” A tough gig for Arthur, who says, “I haven’t been happy one mute of my entire fuckg life.”</p><p class="paywall">And there you have . “Joker” is a miserabilist manifto. It’s directed by Todd Phillips, who -wrote wh Stt Silver, and whose prev films, om “Road Trip” (2000) and “Old School” (2003) to the “Haner” triptych, have lighted the imperishable idcy of the Amerin male, and his stubborn plans to dodge the draft of adulthood. Arthur Fleck, you might say, reprents a nasty new twist on this theme. He still shar an apartment wh his agg mother, Penny (Franc Conroy); their relatnship is close but tense—he wash her hair while she tak a bath—and he mt search for nfidants elsewhere. As well as beiendg, or imagg that he has beiend, a sgle mother (Zazie Beetz) who liv his buildg, he meets wh a social worker (Sharon Washgton), appoted by the cy, who monors his meditn. We learn om her that Arthur has been stutnalized the past, and he rri a rd that he shows to people when they flch away om him. It reads “Five my lghter: I have a ndn.”</p><p class="paywall">But what ndn? Could be psdobulbar affect, which is nrologil orig and giv rise to unntaed lghg and cryg? Unr strs, Arthur certaly breaks to a hyena’s ckle, which stops as abptly as starts; he also weeps, and, closp, we follow the tracks of the tears on his clown’s whe-pated face. (I haven’t seen such artful drips sce 1971, when Dirk Bogar’s hair dye melted, along wh his soul, at the end of “Death Venice.”) The film, however, tak no ser tert <em>what</em> might be wrong wh Arthur. It merely v to watch his wrongns grow out of ntrol and swell to vlence, and propos a vague nnectn between that private swellg and a wir social malady. “Is jt me, or is gettg crazier out there?” he asks. Gus what: ’s both!</p><div><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--article-mid-ntent" role="prentatn" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--article-mid-ntent nsumer-marketg-un__slot---ntent"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div></div><p class="paywall">“Joker” is not plotted so much as crammed wh mangy cints. Like animals, they e two by two. By a charmg cince, for example, two major scen take place public toilets. There are also two extend subway sequenc: one which Arthur his gun for the first time, and another which, pursued by police, he ducks and out of the rriag, as if homage to “The French Connectn” (1971). Most important of all, we get two father figur. One is Murray Frankl (<a href=">Robert De Niro</a>), the host of a TV talk show, unr whose wg Arthur dreams of fdg shelter and approval. The other is Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen), a wealthy bte who is nng for mayor of Gotham. (He has a young son named Bce. Get ?) Thirty years ago, Penny Fleck worked for him, and Arthur hop to explo that distant lk, though Wayne has nothg but srn for the Flecks of this agmented world. “Those of who have ma somethg of our liv will always look at those who haven’t,” he clar, “and see nothg but clowns.”</p><p class="has-dropp has-dropp__lead-standard-headg paywall">Trailg clouds of ntroversy, “Joker” scends upon . The onle discsn has mounted om the rampant to the manic, unterred, or perhaps exacerbated, by the fact that nobody, apart om crics and ftivalgoers, has actually seen the movie. (Emotns n high when people are low on facts.) In one rner are those who crave a masterpiece: a film that will unearth a new psychic tensy the doma of the ic book, ial for our distend tim. In the oppose rner are those who fear that Phillips and Phoenix may give license to all the lonely people out there— particular, to any msed-up whe guys who feel wretchedly uncherished and would wele a tutorial the art of lashg out.</p><div class="Contaer-bkChBi byNLHx"></div><p class="paywall">What is agreed upon, among those who <em>have</em> seen “Joker,” is the prows wh which Phoenix holds all together. His face may get the greasepat, but ’s his whole body, iled upon self like a sprg of flh, om which the movie’s energy is released. He’s so th that, when he strips to the waist and bends, his spe and shoulr blas jut out om the sk; is he a fallen angel, wh his wgs chopped off, or a skeleton--wag, halfway to the grave? Francis Ban, I thk, would have stared at Arthur wh a hungry eye.</p><p class="paywall">The trouble is that Phillips, too, is thrall to his hero, unable to avert his gaze, or his mera, om the lurid spectacle. The same was te, you uld argue, of earlier Jokers—Jack Nicholson, “Batman” (1989), or Heath Ledger, “<a href=">The Dark Knight</a>” (2008), whose featur cracked tanm wh his md. But those were supportg rol, whereas Arthur is the ma attractn. No longer is he forced to be part of the scenery; he <em>is</em> the scenery, and such is the strenuo effort of Phoenix’s performance that be exhstg to behold. Get a load of me, he seems to say, and the load is almost too much to bear. Now and then, other actors, ls worked up, pass across the stage: Bill Camp as a tective, for example, or Brian Tyree Henry as a hospal clerk, both wonrfully weary, like visors om Pla Normal. I mt adm, they e as a relief.</p><p class="paywall">Here’s the al. “Joker” is not a great leap forward, or a ep dive to our llective unnsc, let alone a work of art. It’s a product. All the pre-lnch mblgs, the rants and the rav, ttify to a cunng provotn, and, if we yield to , we’re not jog a bate; we’re offerg our servic, unpaid, to the marketg partment at Warner Bros. When <a href=">Dalí</a> and Buñuel ma “L’Âge d’Or” (1930), they wanted to start a rt, and they succeed, but “Joker” yearns for ltle more than a hundred op-ed piec and a firtorm of tweets. Wh ticket sal, naturally, to match.</p><p class="paywall">The evince for this darg scheme is everywhere you look, Phillips’s film, and everywhere you listen. Nicholson’s Joker may have danced and pranced to the sound of Prce’s “Partyman,” but Phoenix gyrat, on a steep flight of steps, to “Rock ’n’ Roll Part 2,” a 1972 h by Gary Glter. It ed to be popular wh sports teams, rog the crowds at N.F.L. and N.H.L. gam, before Glter was nvicted, 1999, of posssg child pornography, and, seven years later, of sexually abg mors, Vietnam. Sce then, unrstandably, the song has tumbled out of favor. Do you believe that the cisn to revive , for “Joker,” is anythg but a studied choice, nicely crafted to offend? Please. I happen to dislike the film as heartily as anythg I’ve seen the past , but I realize, equally, that to vent any ordate wrath toward is to fall straight to s trap, for outrage merely prov that our attentn has been snagged. Jt ask the Print of the Uned Stat.</p><p class="paywall">“Joker” has s own polil poise. Lt be acced of right-wg flammatn, allowance is ma for issu more ngenial to the left. Cuts to welfare, we are told, will soon block Arthur’s accs to therapy and meditn, and the movie’s plea for the downtrodn to be given their rightful say harks back to Frank Capra and Chapl. In one bizarre scene, the nabobs of Gotham, tuxedos and gowns, are even treated to a special screeng of “Morn Tim.” Why should Phillips nod to a film of 1936, if not to stake his claim as a legatee? No ls brazen are the referenc to Srse, and to his probg of urban paranoia— “Taxi Driver” (1976) and aga “The Kg of Comedy” (1982), where De Niro played a reckls proto-Arthur, fixated on a talk-show host.</p><p class="paywall">“Joker” peaks chaos and nflagratn, igned by Arthur’s crim. Earlier, he slew three fellows sus on the grimy subway: a fell ed that was taken by the have-nots as a ll to arms agast the hav. Now the cy swarms wh a mob of the trated, all sportg Joker masks and wreakg discrimate revenge. Arthur s dulgently upon them, like a wolf surveyg s pups, then climbs onto the hood of a smashed vehicle and glori the applse. (You n sense the movie ngratulatg self.) We’re not far om the flamg climax of “Whe Heat” (1949)—another Warner Bros. shocker, wh Jam Cagney as, y, a mother-stricken murrer named Arthur, bet by psychiatric problems and lghg his way to perdn. Back then, the <em>Tim</em> was dismayed: “Let soberly warn that ‘Whe Heat’ is also a celly vic film and that s impact upon the emotns of the unstable or imprsnable is lculable.” No such worri for Phillips’s movie; s impact is solemnly lculated to the fal ch. I was expectg somethg lled “Joker” to be fun. More fool me. ♦</p></div></div></div><div class="GridItem-buujkM fVLMby grid--em grid-layout__asi"><asi class="PersistentAsiWrapper-VGrR daRVRt persistent-asi" style="posn:absolute;top:to;height:to" data-ttid="PersistentAsiWrapper"><div class="StickyBoxWrapper-jfYB jxBcTH sticky-box ArticlePageSplAdRail-OyjwD jikppc"><div class="StickyBoxPrimary-dzWDWL cdhYoN sticky-box__primary"><div class="ArticlePageSplAdRailContent-jsltpq iZDmmY spl-ad-rail-ntent"><div class="ArticlePageSplAdRailTop-jUrrVY jzzFg"><div class="StickyBoxWrapper-jfYB jxBcTH sticky-box"><div class="StickyBoxPrimary-dzWDWL cdhYoN sticky-box__primary"><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad--rail"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot--rail" data-no-id="rjyp"></div></div><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--display-rail" role="prentatn" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--display-rail"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div></div><div class="StickyBoxPlaceholr-grPmrg dxAvXx"></div></div></div><div class="ArticlePageSplAdRailMiddle-tiRvu hiZeZX spl-ad-rail-middle"></div><div class="ArticlePageSplAdRailBottom-dBKMGQ jmCMsn spl-ad-rail-bottom"><div class="StickyBoxWrapper-jfYB jxBcTH sticky-box"><div class="StickyBoxPrimary-dzWDWL cdhYoN sticky-box__primary"><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad--rail"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot--rail" data-no-id="oaflhq"></div></div><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--display-rail" role="prentatn" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--display-rail"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div></div><div class="StickyBoxPlaceholr-grPmrg dxAvXx"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="StickyBoxPlaceholr-grPmrg dxAvXx"></div></div></asi></div></div></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 PaywallInleBarrierWhWrapperGrid-fyrGfS kLQIUk grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div class="body body__le-barrier article__body"><div class="ntaer ntaer--body"><div class="ntaer--body-ner"><asi class="PaywallInleBarrierWrapper-iBnuqk lfXXa-D" data-ttid="PaywallInleBarrierWrapper"><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--paywall-le-barrier" role="prentatn" aria-live="pole" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--paywall-le-barrier"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div></asi></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 ContentWrapperGrid-fvkmBv brYtrA grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div class="body body__ntaer"><div class="ntaer ntaer--body"><div class="ntaer--body-ner"></div></div></div></div></div></div></article><div class="ContentFooterWrapper-jVNdRG dTJkpP ArticlePageContentFooterGrid-ccsXYy eMZRHU article-body__footer"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><footer class="ContentFooterMagazeDisclaimer-gzKAqo iZIuUU" data-ttid="MagazeDisclaimerWrapper">Published the prt edn of the <a href="/magaze/2019/10/07" data-reactroot="">October 7, 2019</a>, issue, wh the headle “No Lghg Matter.”</footer></div></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"></div></div></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div class="ContributorsWrapper-eNpWFu GWFsc ntributors" data-ttid="Contributors"><div class="ContributorBWrapper-bnVHbt gMon"><div class="ContributorBAvatar-bIGTqf eMWbvj"><a href="/ntributors/anthony-lane"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW jvZaPI rponsive-asset"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa rponsive-image"><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w" siz="100vw"/><img alt="" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></picture></span></a></div><div class="ContributorBContent-ubQdr jZTSSi"><div class="ContributorBHear-ledood XOIEx"></div><div class="ContributorBB-fBolsO giFhKz"><a href="/ntributors/anthony-lane">Anthony Lane</a> has been a film cric for The New Yorker sce 1993. He is the thor of “<a href=">Nobody’s Perfect</a>.”</div><div class="ContributorBFooter-brqDlv ezUmSv"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div data-ttid="TagCloudWrapper" class="TagCloudWrapper-gGgndx ctyZyK ContentFooterTagCloud-krQmRG ZLGh"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ TagCloudSectnHear-cOforY iUEiRd bPyAoD kQQRmu">More:</span><a href="/tag/movi" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BaseLk-eNWuiM TagCloudLk-kvjZFu iUEiRd ggMZaT gFob hIhJOI"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ TagCloudName-eAUnLd iUEiRd gwIVBQ bUkXwu">Movi</span></a><a href="/tag/joaqu-phoenix" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BaseLk-eNWuiM TagCloudLk-kvjZFu iUEiRd ggMZaT gFob hIhJOI"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ TagCloudName-eAUnLd iUEiRd gwIVBQ bUkXwu">Joaqu Phoenix</span></a><a href="/tag/ntroversi" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BaseLk-eNWuiM TagCloudLk-kvjZFu iUEiRd ggMZaT gFob hIhJOI"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ TagCloudName-eAUnLd iUEiRd gwIVBQ bUkXwu">Controversi</span></a><a href="/tag/vlence" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BaseLk-eNWuiM TagCloudLk-kvjZFu iUEiRd ggMZaT gFob hIhJOI"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ TagCloudName-eAUnLd iUEiRd gwIVBQ bUkXwu">Vlence</span></a><a href="/tag/clowns" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BaseLk-eNWuiM TagCloudLk-kvjZFu iUEiRd ggMZaT gFob hIhJOI"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ TagCloudName-eAUnLd iUEiRd gwIVBQ bUkXwu">Clowns</span></a></div></div></div></div><div data-ttid="ContentFooterBottom" class="ContentFooterBottom-jwWZfC kcbyiW"><div class="ContentFooterNewsletterContentWrapper-bmjtna kixtae"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div data-ttid="NewsletterSubscribeFormWrapper" class="NewsletterSubscribeFormWrapper-fCqqkN jKSBhE newsletter-subscribe-form ContentFooterNewsletterForm-hKeYwa liPqcf"><div data-ttid="NewsletterSubscribeFormHedDekWrapper" class="NewsletterSubscribeFormHedDekWrapper-fpMElW eglIBL"><h3 class="NewsletterSubscribeFormDangeroHed-kRwWjt feDzQf newsletter-subscribe-form__hed ContentFooterNewsletterForm-hKeYwa liPqcf">Weekly</h3><div class="NewsletterSubscribeFormDek-kXonvc grEaES newsletter-subscribe-form__k">Your gui to the latt magaze and our biggt stori of the week, pl highlights om podsts, humor, and more.</div></div><div data-ttid="NewsletterSubscribeFormInputsWrapper" class="NewsletterSubscribeFormInputsWrapper-keARJE hVWbzr"><form class="form-wh-validatn NewsletterSubscribeFormValidatn-iCYa-Dt dweEln" id="newsletter" name="newsletter" novalidate="" method="POST"><span class="TextFieldWrapper-Pzdqp hNhevp text-field" data-ttid="TextFieldWrapper__email"><label class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ TextFieldLabel-klrYvg iUEiRd stdEm fvoOvz text-field__label text-field__label--sgle-le" for="newsletter-text-field-email" data-ttid="TextFieldLabel__email"><div class="TextFieldLabelText-cvvxBl eeDYTb">E-mail addrs</div><div class="TextFieldInputContaer-jcMPhb oFrOs"><put type="email" aria-scribedby="privacy-text" aria-valid="false" id="newsletter-text-field-email" required="" name="email" placeholr="E-mail addrs" class="BaseInput-fAzTdK TextFieldControlInput-eFUxkf eGzzTT lglhcT text-field__ntrol text-field__ntrol--put" data-ttid="TextFieldInput__email"/></div></label><button class="BaseButton-bLlsy ButtonWrapper-xCepQ bqVKKv dwpimO button button--utily TextFieldButton-csBrgY edxbrw" data-event-click="{"element":"Button"}" data-ttid="Button" type="subm"><span class="ButtonLabel-cjAuJN hzwRuG button__label">Sign up</span></button></span><div id="privacy-text" tabx="-1" class="NewsletterSubscribeFormDisclaimer-bTVtiV bsgLJZ"><span><p>By signg up, you agree to our <a href=" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">User Agreement</a> and <a href=" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement</a>. 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class="RubricWrapper-dKmCNX kImuKS bric bric--disvery SummaryItemRubric-dguGKN lapGFj summary-em__bric"><span class="RubricName-fVtemz cLxcNi">Richard Brody</span></div><a class="SummaryItemHedLk-civM dVrbhU summary-em-trackg__hed-lk summary-em__hed-lk" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-hed-1" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" href="/culture/richard-brody/the-exemplary-badns-of-war-dogs-and-hell-or-high-water" target="_self"><div class="SummaryItemHedBase-hiFYpQ fzzTdh summary-em__hed" data-ttid="SummaryItemHed">The Exemplary Badns of “War Dogs” and “Hell or High Water”</div></a><div class="SummaryItemByleWrapper-boCfbi cuRXdL summary-em__byle-date-in"><div class="SummaryItemBaseByle-fFbXkY cgDBtc summary-em__byle"><div class="summary-em__byle__ntent"><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH dSEWiO byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd jslZfG gnILss byle__preamble">By </span>Richard Brody</span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="SummaryItemWrapper-iwvBff hNpSyX summary-em summary-em--article summary-em--no-in summary-em--text-align-left summary-em--layout-placement-text-below summary-em--layout-posn-image-left summary-em--layout-proportns-50-50 summary-em--si-by-si-align-center summary-em--si-by-si-image-right-mobile-false summary-em--standard SummaryCollectnGridSummaryItem-WColm hKqhyj" role="button" tabx="0"><div class="SummaryItemAssetContaer-gwhFFH VOyg summary-em__asset-ntaer"><a class="SummaryItemImageLk-dshqxb cPpCwE summary-em__image-lk summary-em-trackg__image-lk" href="/magaze/2019/09/30/villas-hog-the-spotlight--the-lndromat" aria-hidn="te" tabx="-1" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-image-2" 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