Horribly brilliant, I wish I could unsee this film and watch it again.

Rating: 10/10 (22 October 2019)

Joaquin Phoenix is excellent, this is the best movie you will see this year.
This movie is a visual treatise on mental heath, abuse and social marginalisation. It has not much to do with DC and the fictional character. It perfectly explores how a human being can unravel into a sociopath. They could have easily called it 'Making a madman' or something.
Not sure why they picked the 1980s but it worked well, the music is excellent and quite diverse in parts. Grimy downtrodden NY/Gotham looks awesome and suits the story.
Heath Ledger was excellent previously but this film is rooted in brutal reality and it is so different to everything that came before that it is justified as a standalone masterpiece.