It should have been Commodus (Gladiator) 19 years ago - It'll be Arthur Fleck

Rating: 10/10 (26 September 2019)

19 years ago, Joaqin Phoenix was robbed of his Oscar but this time it'll be almost impossible to top this performance this year in movies.
Phoenix dazzles as this sort of distressed, twisted character that has everything in life going against him. Gotham truly is a cruel city and you end the movie questioning whose side you're on.
The links to to Wayne family in this picture also grow the folklore around the Joker-Batman dynamic and you get a greater sense as to why their stories are so intertwined. Really classy touch.
Going into this, I felt this 2hour + movie would drag but each and every scene meshes well together, the 1st act makes you grow attached to Arthur as he battles against these demons in his life and the middle & final acts pay your patience with a bunch of twists & turns that you didn't see coming.
Worth every second, tightly written script and I can't wait for what DC has in store for us moving forward with these stand alone features. 10/10