The Joker wins this one...

Rating: 9/10 (16 November 2019)

This is such a wonderful surprise of a movie. A big gamble by taking the Joker out of the comfort zone of a Batman movie and giving him an Origins story. There have been multiple origins stories already done on the Joker including in Tim Burton's "Batman" and the graphic novel turned animated film "The Killing Joke", but this film is completely its own original story.
We follow the Joker starting through a difficult unsettling life, seeing his personal mental & social issues, and how he evolves into the dark villain we all know so well (or thought we did). This film is very dark & unsettling, definitely not for kids. I can't think of many other comic movies as adult as this (in tone at least).
Joaquin Phoenix gives an incredible performance, swaying from emotional & sympathetic to sociopathic & unhinged. You will be absorbed so much into the character but you have to keep a distance (a strange think to admit on a movie character). Robert De Niro co-stars and gives one of his best performances in many a year, although the Irishman has just also been released after this film and he deserves credit for that too. There's so many other actors to give credit to also in the acting stakes, and everyone seems to have been perfectly chosen.
The grim & dreary look is perfect and the director has paced this so well, and shot it perfectly without the need for resorting to any heavy CGI etc. It's about the performances & looks, and not some big bash movie fight. I absolutely loved the ending to this film too, the best most original & outstanding ending in a movie for a good while: dark, grim & perfectly fitting.
For me surprisingly, I've read very critical reviews of this movie. Seems to have polarised many critics & reviewers, which is a shame as a film of this quality I would have hoped would gain unreserved praise across the board. I don't want the future of film to be one size fits all Marvel superhero tales which are getting a little repetitive. In any case, maybe the difficult nature of the film is too unsettling for some. This film does get under your skin.
I was just blown away by this film. I can't wait to watch it again. Even Bruce Wayne I'm sure would applaud this film. Recommended very highly.
Final question: is this the best Joker on screen to date? Strong competition but a discussion I'll leave for another day.