Not A Masterpiece, But Impressive

Rating: 7/10 (17 October 2019)

I've been seeing this a lot lately with Hollywood movies this year. They are highly anticipated movies, with the biggest stars, and the coolest storylines, but they are a complete disappointment the first time you watch it. You start to wonder why the world is so worked up over this movie. And you feel cheated.
But the funny thing happens a few days later, when you find yourself back at the theater to watch it again. Why, you don't know. But then it grows on you. And you notice something that takes your breathe away. And you realize why you love cinema in the first place.
The Joker did that to me. It was a very strange experience into possibly the most deranged mind ever put on the screen. Whereas most criminals or lunatics in film act in a "mad" way, Phoenix's portrayal of Joker is someone who is without question mad from the beginning. He may have at first been acting mad, to get some sort of sympathy from people, but it appears that he not only ran with it, but extended that madness as far as he could take it. To sum it up, a guy like this shouldn't legally be allowed in public.
Joker is a story of Arthur Fleck. Where the reality begins and the fantasy starts, the audience has no idea. But the general story is that Fleck gets fired from his job as a clown and kills some "bully" Wall Street guys on the train home, which leads to the entire city rioting about the "rich versus poor" debate. Arthur soon admits he is the one who started the riots and killed the men, and becomes the hero of the chaos.
It's a really creepy film. It makes you want to take a shower after, and get a real life job.
Go see it. It's a pretty amazing film.
7 stars