An Oscar worthy performance from Joaquin Phoenix

Rating: 9/10 (12 October 2019)

I've been waiting for this film for a while. After the sound check for this movie from Todd Phillip's Instagram that came out almost a year ago, I've been so pumped for Joker ever since. I watched this film 2 days ago, and I gotta say, this is the best film I've seen in a movie theater by a long shot. Let's start with the obvious, Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker is definitely one of the best performances of the decade, and possibly in my top 10 favorite performances of all time. Joaquin was haunting in this film, his smile, his laugh, and his actions all feel so real and terrifying. Also, I really feel connected and understand his character even though he's doing all of these bad things. Todd Phillips did a really good job with the direction in this film. Another great thing about this film is its cinematography. This film's colors bounce off the screen and every shot in the film felt so in my face I loved it. I saw it in Dolby Cinema, and the experience was dazzling. The film made me feel like I was right there with the characters. Let's talk about Heath Ledger's joker versus Joaquin Phoenix's joker. Ledger's joker was on screen in The Dark Knight for about 50 minutes, and he sells every second of it. Although, there was almost no arc for Heath's joker and I didn't connect with him unlike Joaquin's joker. I feel like Heath's joker is a better performance, but Joaquin's joker felt more like a person that I could connect and understand more. If Joaquin doesn't win Best Actor I'm gonna hate the academy forever. My only issue with the film, which is kinda major, is its similarities to Taxi Driver. This film takes many aspects from Taxi Driver like many other films, but Joker especially. There were some moments in this film that were a lot like some moments in Taxi Driver. The first act of this film felt familiar, but the second and third act of this film really hits home. I'm gonna keep this brief, but there are a few subplots in this film that are a bit ballsy, that has never been expressed in any form of a joker comic or film or tv show. Some might find these subplots weird, but I find them pretty compelling and is one of the most unique parts of this film. People have been saying that this film is violent and some have even said that this film is "dangerous." I disagree with those statements highly because this film isn't too violent, and the violent parts are shown in a really raw and realistic way, not being hollywoodized violence. There are way more violent films in my opinion that people have forgotten about, like almost every single Tarantino film, or Drive, and heck, even Taxi Driver. People are just saying these exaggerated things to get attention, and that really ticks me off. This was probably one of my most anticipated films of all time, and it did not disappoint. I like how 2 of my most anticipated films come out in the same week, Joker and El Camino lol. Look out for my El Camino review coming out soon. I'm gonna give Joker a 9/10.