An experience not just a movie

Rating: 9/10 (16 April 2020)

A socially isolated man killing people mercilessly and you justify the same?
It may be the easiest way to depict the film but Joker is not really a film, it is an experience. A few of the critics depicted the film as dangerous to the society, some even tagged it as leftist, a few of them started comparing Phoenix with Heath Ledger. Well, a self-pitied man dancing in his own rhythm after killing innocents or creating a riot cannot be justified. But wait... all we are talking about is a movie. And a movie is like a canvas and that canvas belonged to the director. Here I see Joker as a perfect painting by Todd Philips.
You may feel disgusted with the very idea of the film but as a film Joker stands out. If I ever been asked to define a 'complete movie', Joker would definitely be in the top ten of them.
I was born in a small town and grew up reading Indrajal Comics. My superheroes were more or less unidimensional like Phantom, Mandrake, Flash Gordon. The first introduction to Marvel was in the early 90s through Spiderman. My introduction to DC and Marvel was made much later in my life and took me a few years to realize the layers of a character like Joker. What I like most about the film is that you need not be an expert in DC Comics to feel the film. Joker has gone way beyond DC and the film is a perfect metamorphosis of a character from the comic book to a larger than life antihero.
Joaquin Phoenix has played a mentally disturbed man even in the past (To Die For). The character he played in Gladiator was also not of a stable man. I was extremely disturbed by Phoenix's depiction of the fictionalized version of Roman Emperor Commodus in Gladiator. But if that was disturbing, what he did as Joker is phenomenally disturbing, utterly unnerving and needless to say a brilliant performance. I think the history of cinema will remember Joaquin for playing Joker. As a performance, this is truly masterclass.
There are few films which remain with you for a while. There are few films that are difficult to forget and there are few films which you want to forget but difficult to get rid of. Joker is such a film. Todd Phillips has made a masterpiece.
Don't miss this experience
If I ever make a film, I will try to make a film as perfect as Joker. And that is the reason for which I could never make a film. I hate myself for recommending strongly to go and watch Joker.