Hold on to your seat!

Rating: 10/10 (30 October 2019)

I was wrong to almost pass up this performance by Joaquin Phoenix having never been much of a fan; the guy is incredible and now one of my all-time favorite actors. I stay away from previews, but I started hearing what people were saying on my social media, about the movie bringing truth to the Joker in its portrayal of mental illness and about the performance. I got really interested, and I hate missing something in the theater that winds up being so good. Anyway, the movie is my new favorite take on the Batman universe. It was so realistic, a drama that slowly gave way to familiar Batman tropes and action, but in a totally unfamiliar way. I was continually surprised by the character and plot development, even though we all knew where it would finally need to land - it was how it got there that was so fantastic. It was certainly violent, but I appreciate its brutality, neither campy nor too restrained. It was scary, realistic violence, the stuff of nightmares. But really, this would have been nothing without the performance. Loved this movie.