I was stunned

Rating: 9/10 (29 October 2019)

I was a bit of a clown coming in to watch this film on the big screen this weekend - I was not aware it had anything to do with the Batman comic hero story. I did kind of acknowledge the references to Gotham city and the Wayne family however I was so TOTALLY engrossed by the character development I actually banished these references from my mind after a few seconds (somehow not relevant). That fact alone says everything about the breathtaking intensity of this film since I do know about the Batman films and really enjoyed the Dark Knight trilogy (especially with HL as Joker). My brother could hardly believe I was not aware of the Batman storyline.
In my opinion the film does not even need to be linked to the Batman storyline. It is in itself a brilliant and poignant portrayal of a disturbed member of society falling victim to their own, and societies, failings. Perhaps I should be happy that I was so ignorant as I may not have been quite as awestruck by the performance, cinematography and soundtrack if I had known beforehand about this film's comic book origins. This was frighteningly real.
I cannot, in all honestly, give a 10 out of 10 to any film (what is perfection?) but this has to be one of the best films I have ever seen and it has had a deep, disturbing impact that will certainly alter my perception of mental health issues and how we need to take care as a society.