Not my favorite film of the year. But worth seeing and appreciating

Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2019)

I thought I'd weigh-in after seeing the 8.8/10 score.
It's a good movie. The script is solid. The acting is special. Especially for Phoenix. I like the the subjects addressed in the movie. I just didn't find myself on the edge-of-my-seat like some people who likely gave the movie 10/10.
I think my reservations were because it's a prequel story for a character we're already somewhat familiar with. We know the Joker isn't going to die. We know he's going to become evil. The surprises are how he started off as a sympathetic character and how that character transitions to becoming evil. I feel the topics could have been better addressed if it was a blank slate fictional story about the same guy without our Batman-frame-of-reference playing a part. The film probably wouldn't get as many views or make as much money. But I would have been much more curious regarding what was or wasn't going to happen. Because the end would have been a surprise. Every possibility would have seemed possible.
I think for THAT reason more than anything I gave the movie an 8. In terms of the potential for what this film could be, I think it's a 9/10. But I give it an 8/10 based on what it actually is.
And I would I would have given it a 10/10 on the potential score if it wasn't for one decision they made. I specifically thought it was unnecessary and contrived for the Joker to be implied to have any family relation to Bruce Wayne. For the story it made sense for his father to be a wealthy guy. I'd prefer it was some random rich guy who worked for the Wayne company, rather than Batman's father himself. When the world for a story is made-out to be too small and coincidental, it stops feeling as real and deep as it otherwise should/could feel. In my opinion they should have saved their coincidental juices for the Joker ending up on that Late Night TV show. I think the story having the father element plus the TV show appearance was spreading the coincidence juices a a bit too far.