Mr. Phoenix really delivered

Rating: 8/10 (26 January 2020)

I am very very impressed by the acting of Joaquin Phoenix in this movie. He really put a LOT into this, to the point where I was mesmerized by his portrayal of a guy with severe mental issues.
This origin story of the Joker, kinda based on "The Killing Joke" tells a story without chases through chemical plants, without huge battles or even the Batman.
It shows us how a guy who is having severe mental health issues gets beaten up by life over and over until he cracks and turns into something else. Even people who don't care about DC- or Marvel-superhero/villain movies might enjoy this, because if this wasn't about the Joker, this could be a fascinating case study of someone being pushed to the brink and snapping.
Mr. Phoenix' portrayal of the Joker is fascinating. There is one scene in particular, where he trying to get information about his mothers past, talking to someone reading her file, where he does this little thing with his facial expression and his voice that made me go "OK... I believe this guy. He is insane". I haven't often see an actor go this far and be that convincing, to the point where it was almost scary.
Now, for the elephant in the room - the comparisons. Just like in the comics, in the chronology of the Batman-comics, there have been several different jokers.
Think of the old TV show, where Joker was campy, silly, over the top, and it fit. Jack Nicholson in the 1989 movie showed us the classic origin story and was a mix of the silly Joker and the violent, cruel one.
Heath Ledger was the mysterious one, the absolutely unpredictable, murderous clown. He didnt really give you his story, and it was perfect that way.
Now, we have Phoenix, who shows us a different origin and is incredibly convincing.
Who is best? Ledger? Phoenix? Nicholson? It doesn't matter. They ALL are the Joker. Just like the comic villain went through different origins and different levels of silliness, cruelty and insanity, all these big screen Jokers, those actors show us different facets. They all fit the movie they are in, fit the period they appear in.
And maybe, if we could embrace that instead of trying to compare or rank who is "the best Joker", we could enjoy all of them and the different Joker-faces they have given us.
There are some flaws in here. There is a bit of a "Shutter Island" type reveal in here. Sometimes, it seems as if the messages the story is trying to convey are signaled way too obviously, not subtle at all. Sometimes, Phoenix seems to exaggerate a bit, but then again... maybe that fits as well, or maybe it's a side effect of an actor absolutely immersing himself into the character he is portraying.
And I found it hard to sit through the part where a certain relationship between young Bruce Wayne and the Joker is hinted at, going "Why? Why do this? Don't tell us that this is what happened". Fortunately, that part of the story takes a turn, and I am glad it did. It was hard to sit through that part before the turn though.
Bottom line:
Phoenix put a lot into this role. Sometimes over the top, this, to me, is very impressive method-acting. He had me pretty much convinced that yes, this guy is insane, unpredictable, explosive, out of control. I was mesmerized by those scenes, and will surely remember them for a long time.
Even though there are some flaws, this is an amazing movie. Even if this wasnt about the JOKER, it would be an impressive portrayal of a guy with problems being pushed to turn into a killer.
Give it a chance, don't worry about who is the "better" Joker (why not enjoy them all), and just let them tell you this story.