A decent performance by Joaquin Pheonix sadly let down by a poor and dissapointing script

Rating: 3/10 (5 October 2019)

After seeing the billboard signs all around the London Underground and learning that the critics has approved of the film in their masses, I was very much looking forward to what appeared to be a very different and almost arthouse interpretation of the Joker.
Before I tell you what I think of the film, I want to go into what I believe the Joker to be and the interpretation of him based on the comic books. Firstly as per the source material, the Joker is not actually insane but rather what one psychiatrist in the comics describes as being 'supersane'. He sees the irony in the world and the way that it works. Like the Comedian in the Alan Moore comic book 'The Watchmen' (which at one time was going to use the Joker before settling on the Comedian character), he treats the world as 'one big joke'. The Joker does not like to conform or like to follow rules and regulations. In the comic books the Joker is a failed comedian who is driven over the edge after a series of tragedies and then snaps out at the world. This is by no way saying that his actions are ever justified. On the contrary he is evil, ruthless, daring, sadistic and twisted. But not conforming to societies rules and norms makes him far more intelligent and innovative.
With that said, I was somewhat dissapointed in the way that the Joker was portrayed in this new movie. Yes, Joaquin Pheonix is a great actor who deserves recognition for his performance here, though I would stop short to suggest that it is an Oscar worthy performance. But the fact that his character of Arthur Fleck is compromised from the start with both psychological issues and a laughing condition, which makes him laugh uncontrollably when he is nervous or anxious, dumbs down the origins story. One does subsequently feel pity for Arthur throughout the film from seeing him get mobbed by kids on the street, being refused psychological treatment due to funding cuts, being treated terribly by his work colleagues and boss, having to look after his elderly mother, the issue of unrequited love with his neighbour, his subsequent humiliation at the hands of Robert De Niro's character and learning about his mother's past, which leads to the bloody and brutal finale. Ultimately, Arthur's transformation to the Joker is due to the brutality and harshness of society and the way it treats those who are different. Whether this is through its lack of caring for the the sick, the elderly, the mentally challenged or even the physically disabled. The fact that he shows some sympathy to the dwarf character, also strongly suggests that this Joker is not actually evil. This is the complete antithesis of what the Joker is. Infact, I really don't see this interpretation of the Joker successfully standing off against Batman. As a result the film left me somewhat dissapointed. Part of this was also because the script was very poorly written.
The redeeming part of the film is the ending, which combined with several earlier flashback scenes makes you wonder whether the events in the film even took place or were just a figment of Arthur's imagination, very similar to the ending of Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon a Time in America', which suggests that Robert De Niro's character may have dreamed up all the events of the movie. After all the joker does state in the comic book 'The Killing Joke' that if he prefers to have a past, he would rather it be multiple choice, so this is a valid hypothesis. Which leaves us to ponder whether this film should be considered as Cannon to the Batman universe or not. I myself prefer that it was not considered to be cannon and an glad that it is a standalone film.
The film is inspired of numerous films throughout the decades, which includes the Kings of Comedy, Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver, Falling Down, Only God Forgives and Drive. However, I personally don't think it has the intelligence or effectiveness of Falling Down or indeed the panache of another film that I recently saw from Indian cinema, which I would highly recommend to readers, called Wajood starring the brilliant Nana Patekar. For me the Joker could have been a better film as a standalone study of mental illness, without the Batman Franchise being associated with it.