Average screenplay, good movie, outstanding performance

Rating: 8/10 (23 December 2019)

I did not pay any attention to the hype about Joker---I normally do not. When a friend of mine recommended me to watch it, I was still skeptical. Eventually I watched it and I was very wrong. It was far better than anything that I could have imagined from a blockbuster, especially considering its focus on such an over-filmed theme (the Joker). Relative to my level of expectations before watching it, Joker was very good, but if I adopt a more universal criteria of assessing a film, I should say that it was "good but not perfect".
Four key elements are (commonly) considered as the main pillars of films: screenplay (script), cinematography, editing, and directorship (acting and music score are less critical parts, though they can sometimes play an equally important role for an enduring film). The only sub-perfect key element of Joker is its screenplay which---even if we forgive its several holes and minor flaws---has some fundamental flaws. For example, some key elements of the story-line are unreasonable and "forced" and words are put in the mouth of the characters to tell the audience things that were not part of the organic development of the story. These issues can partly be accepted due to the ambiguity of the story about the delusional character of the hero. But not all of them can be justified by the explanation "it was another delusion." Indeed, blurring of the border between delusion and reality which is a common theme in psychological movies were developed crudely.
Despite these issues, the script was still OK and was not so bad to bring down the whole film.
But---as many has already noted and it was very obvious from the very first minutes---what will give this movie a chance to become a true gem of cinema is the acting of Joaquin Phoenix as Joker. Perhaps acting is not the right word, because his performance looks like a literal embodiment of a difficult and complex role. For example, those laugh-cries of him were mesmerizing, chilling, authentic, penetrating, and unforgettable.
Through the course of the story, he gradually loses contact with all that could have provided him some reasons to cling to hope, goodness, decency, and anything positive about society and the future. He loses everything and through this painful process sets himself "free" from all social bonds, including the need to be happy, or to maintain hope. Instead of climbing the stairs, he suddenly finds himself dancing "downhill." His freedom is unfortunately a direct stride toward the evil. The more colorful costumes he wears and the more "smile" he draws on his face, the darker he actually becomes. His twisted version of enlightenment is the existential realization that there is no hope or salvation in this dark world. He brilliantly metamorphosizes into an archetypal Joker.