Plodding Portrait of Mental Illness

Rating: 6/10 (22 January 2020)

Joaquin Phoenix is unquestionably among the best actors of our times. His efforts on Joker should convince any skeptics.
That aside, this film suffers from its comic book character heritage. It would have been more respectable if it simply purported to tell the story of a person whose personal misfortunes, including his loss of medical services, gradually shove him into a complete state of violent insanity. It's a story oft repeated in American society and it's worth portraying to garner better public understanding.
Unfortunately most people pay their money to see a violent new comic book chapter. In this case, they spend most of their time watching the main character disintegrate from within.