Outstanding movie. A rare masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (2 November 2019)

This movie left me speechless and has stayed with me for days now.
Joaquin's performance undoubtedly deserves a best actor nomination and sits comfortably among the best Joker portrayals. I don't think it's useful to compare his to Heath Ledger's effort as they are both excellent in their own right, and each serve their respective stories perfectly. This story however, is a different, much more gritty tale that the excellent Dark Night movies. This is something else entirely and as long as you are not expecting an adrenaline fuelled action romp then I fail to see how anyone could find fault here. The acting and cinematography completely blew me away and I hope everyone involved gets the recognition they deserve.
One valid criticism I've heard is that this Joker doesn't show the kind of criminal genius that we might expect from one of DC's greatest villains. While I agree with that to some extent, what has been created here is exceptionally good and I feel it excels largely for not trying to bend to a more cartoon-like narrative.
The movie doesn't feature as much violence as I had expected, but what there was felt all the more real and powerful for it. This film is the darkest, most raw and disturbing that I can remember. I'm not even sure if I'll re-watch it. I don't need to. It will already stay with me as one of the most powerful movies I have ever seen.