The most conflicted I've been about a rating in years

Rating: 6/10 (6 October 2019)

Hey, I'm TheFilmNudist, and today I'll be review Todd Phillips' "Joker."
There's something about this movie that feels rushed, or unfinished, which is surprising for a two hour long film. Now that's not to say this is a bad movie; it isn't. In fact, i saw it twice, enjoyed it even more the second time, and might go see it a third. There's a lot to like and even love in "Joker;" but once the credits roll, the overall package feels disappointing.
This is an incredibly watchable and entertaining film, and I can't stop thinking about it. Joaquin Phoenix gives a mesmerizing performance, and he brings Arthur Fleck to terrifying life. As Arthur, Joaquin gives a sympathetic, and totally unrelatable performance. You can 100% sympathize with this character. He's lonely, he's depressed, and he's unsatisfied with the monotony of his life. He feels unloved and purposeless, and honestly, who hasn't felt like that from time to time. So as he's getting beaten, or made fun of, or harassed, you can't help but feel bad for him. Things just go from bad to worse for Arthur, and it makes "Joker" one of the saddest and most relentlessly bleak movies of the year. But when Arthur starts to lose it and unleash his rage on the people who he thinks deserve it, you can't help but wish he got the help he needed to curb his impulses. It's not fun watching him turn into the Joker; instead of feeling the excitement I anticipated, I just felt sadder and sadder while watching Arthur lose his mind and become the titular villain we all know. But I can't deny that it was effective viewing. In "Suicide Squad" and "The Dark Knight," viewers will most likely root for the Joker and want to see what villainous shenanigans he pulls off next. But in this, I assume most viewers will be increasingly frustrated and disgusted with Arthur's behavior, which is effective. This is the first time in a long time I can actively remember being turned off by the villain and wishing he would turn toward good.
And while I wouldn't necessarily say that this movie has a lot of depth to it, there is certainly enough to keep you thinking about it for days afterward. I don't want to spoil anything specific, but the opening and the ending specifically have a lot of meat to chew on if you stop to think about it. The movie arguably starts at exactly the moment when Arthur starts his descent towards being the Joker, and ends at arguably the moment when Joker is thinking about creating his arch-nemesis, and both scenes are masterful at instilling a sense of dread within the viewer.
The directing, cinematography, and score are also all top notch. Every scene, every frame, and every sound worked together fantastically to evoke emotion within the viewer; there are scenes in here that I cannot stop thinking about because of how twistedly beautiful they were. One scene in particular after Arthur commits his first crime is so gorgeously dark that I want to see the film again just to witness that particular sequence on the big screen once more. And of course, needless to say, the acting is incredible and if Mr. Phoenix doesn't win an Oscar for best actor then I'll be jumping off a bridge (I'll take any excuse at this point).
Like I said, there's a ton to love about this film. But I can't help but shake the feeling that the movie should have been at least another hour longer. The film ends as soon as it's getting going; it really leaves you wanting more. And while that is a good thing in theory, in reality it just leaves the audience mildly unsatisfied. I mean, all spoilers aside, Arthur finally becomes Joker within the last 20 or 30 minutes of the movie, and in my personal opinion, this doesn't really give the audience enough to be completely satisfied. Yes, I know this is a character study about Arthur, but the movie is called "Joker," and seeing the Clown Prince of Crime is something that the audience is expecting to see. And they do see it, but most likely not as much as they'd like.
I haven't agonized this much over a rating in a long time. I did really enjoy this movie (more the second time than the first when I had time to process how dark and depressing it is), and the overall look and feel of the movie is important; this movie looks like an arthouse film, and has a slow burn typical of an arthouse film, and the fact that it is being widely released to general audiences in the guise of a super villain movie is in my eyes a milestone of cinema. But, even though I loved the acting and directing of this movie, I can't help but wish the plot would've been deeper and longer than it actually is.
I know it seems like I'm being very nitpicky, but this is a very hard film to review without explicit spoilers. Yes, I really loved multiple aspects of the film, and I can't wait to see it again. But the overall package felt short-winded and in need of more footage. Overall, I would recommend you going to see "Joker," but don't go expecting the action packed super villain romp that you may expect.
6/10