Very good but short of greatness

Rating: 7/10 (22 January 2020)

It took me a little while to put my finger on what was putting me off about this movie and it's really a variety of things. As far as the plot, there are a variety of major contrivances that really seem like they wouldn't happen. His connection to Thomas Wayne, his history of trauma, and his booking on the talk show just seem like a collection of highly unlikely instances and when combined they are just not believable and take you out of the movie. It's also a bit of a stretch that a whole movement would spring up after one incident of a clown killing rich guys. It seems like there would need to be a pattern in order for it to really drum up that kind of attention and message.
There's also a series of twists built on top of each other that are both very predictable and distractingly unnecessary. In very short order you find out that Thomas Wayne is Arthur's father, and then that he isn't Arthur's father, and that his mother isn't his mother because he was adopted, and then also his mother ended up in Arkham because of her own mental illness associated with horrific abuse that she allowed him to suffer. And then his female friend turns out to be the result of a delusion. One or two twists is plenty, when you get to 5 it starts to lose it's impact. They also open up a wide variety of plot holes. How did his mother retain custody of him after the abuse and committal? He should have ended up a ward of the state and in foster care, why didn't that happen and why could he remember any of it? How was his mother able to financially support them after coming out of a mental facility? Why did his neighbor's story line abruptly end when he found out she was imaginary? Even if it was going to be ambiguous, you would expect it to have some impact on him whether he's still angry at her or feels guilt or shame or something. Instead, he just seems to forget her and the movie does too. Why doesn't he have any other delusions? People who are delusional tend to have a variety of them but he just seems to have the one centered around this person so that we can have a plot twist.
The movie lifts heavily from other movies like King of Comedy and Taxi Driver. Someone also pointed out Fight Club and 12 Monkeys. But really, movies and storytelling have been around long enough that a little thievery is to be expected.
The acting is a strong point, particularly from Frances Conroy and Zazie Beetz, who both do a great deal with relatively small parts. Joaquin's performance is good in the quiet moments but the over-the-top bits detract from it. He also over-uses the dancing and the twisted and emaciated body. The first few times you see it, it's disturbing but by the 8th, you're pretty used to it. Personally, I found Conroy's depiction of Arthur's mother as a decrepit, delusional, frightened woman who's son is losing his mind and murdering people to be the most touching and disturbing aspect of the film.
Along with the acting, the cinematography, editing, and sound design are very strong. They build creeping senses of dread and foreboding that really make the movie sing in it's best moments.
Overall, the movie is a bit sloppy and uneven (and the Batman stuff is largely shoehorned in) but at times it also generates powerful moments as it barrels toward a theme of mistreatment of the mentally ill by society.