Joker: Here's The Deleted Scene That Proves Arthur Didn't Kill Sophie

While Joker writer-director Todd Phillips already revealed that Arthur (Joaquin Phoenix) didn’t kill Zazie Beets' character Sophie, the script has been posted online revealing a deleted scene that actually proves it. In the film, Arthur bonds with his neighbor Sophie throughout the course of the film. It starts out with polite small talk and evolves to her supporting him at his comedy show and being by his side while his mother is in the hospital. Unfortunately, when Arthur breaks into Sophie’s apartment and she hardly knows who he is, their relationship is exposed as one of Arthur’s delusions. Sophie reminds Arthur that she has a daughter in the next room and pleads with him to leave. Since the scene cuts off and the movie next shows Arthur leaving her apartment, the film left moviegoers wondering if Arthur murdered her offscreen.

Warner Bros' Joker follows Arthur Fleck as he transforms from a failed comedian to the clown-faced leader of a massive and violent revolution. After, Arthur goes “viral” when he is unable to control one of his hysterical episodes during his standup comedy set, his idol, Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro), invites him onto Live with Murray Franklin. However, when Arthur realizes he's been made into a joke, he uses Franklin’s talk show as a platform to express his frustrations over the injustices that life has presented him.

Director Phillips answered the question regarding whether Sophie survived in an interview. He confirmed that Sophie lived and mentioned that Sophie reappeared in the screenplay during a scene that was cut. The Joker script that Deadline posted features the deleted scene in which the still-alive Sophie watches horrified as Arthur runs rampant on Live With Murray Franklin on her television. Read the scene below:

INT. SOPHIE'S APARTMENT, LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Sophie screams and jumps to her feet horrified! Waking up GiGi who starts to cry when she sees what's on television--

ANGLE ON TELEVISION, Joker gets up and walks right up to the camera. Blood sprayed over his white painted face. Hear the studio audience still screaming, bedlam all around him.

JOKER (ON TV)

(looks straight into camera; screams Murray's signature sign off)

GOOD NIGHT AND ALWAYS REMEMBER,--THAT'S LIFE!

Phillips intentionally wrote the screenplay in a way that would leave viewers with questions about Joker, which is a possible explanation for why the scene was cut. Moviegoers are left to decide matters like whether Penny had an affair with Thomas Wayne and even if Arthur Fleck is actually the Joker or if he just inspires the rise of the Joker on their own. The blurred lines speak to the psychological experience of the thriller. Moviegoers feel like they’re losing their minds with Arthur. Mental illness is clearly a central focus of the film, and Phillips reveals the line that resonates most with people suffering from psychological disorders.

“One of the things I’ve noticed has really caught on is the idea of what Arthur writes in his notebook: ‘The worst part of a mental illness is that people expect you to behave as if you don’t.’ That really resonated with a lot of people who do suffer from mental illness and saw a little bit of themselves in the movie, or in Arthur, or in his experiences in different ways. I’ve had so many people write me emails or posts on my Instagram saying, ‘That line is exactly what it feels like…’”

Warner Bros' Joker brought in reviews of all extremes ranging from praise over the social issues it tackles to outrage from all the violence. However, one indisputable fact about is that Joker has a phenomenal script. Reading the version of the script posted online only sheds a small, but significant light into the craft and depth Phillips put into this film. Not only are there hidden layers underneath the dialogue but the set descriptions and action lines as well. Moviegoers that were left in a puzzled state of awe after leaving the theaters following Joker should give the script a read.

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Source: Deadline