Amazing Performance Within A Struggling Script

Rating: 6/10 (12 November 2019)

"Joker" is a psychological thriller film based on the origins of DC comics villain character of The Joker. Following similar themes to "The Killing Joke" comic, a failed stand-up comedian who turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City.
So Joaquin Phoenix will go down in history as the second best Joker in the Batman live-action cinematic universe, I don't think anyone will ever top Heath Ledger. But second best is still pretty good, especially when playing such an iconic character. He embodied the character, not just in manneristic insanity but also in physicality. Wow he looked sick in this film and it made me uncomfortable! You feel for Arthur's character throughout most of the film, though this shifts when murder starts to rear its ugly head. The film made his constant being targeted of harassment and violence so over the top, it wasn't entirely believable but Gotham has always been the city that no one should move to.
The film was shot beautifully, I loved the shots on the staircase. We get a dreary looking city contrasted by Arthur's attire by the end of the film which was great. Also the entire talk show sequence was fantastically done. It's raw, uncomfortable, shocking and right up the Joker's alley. All the problems I had with the film have to do with certain plot points themselves. We did not need the entirely obvious "hallucination" plot twist of Sophie. It was unnecessary and could've been utilized to continue the descent into Joker territory. I was fine with his laugh being deemed a disorder and his mothers neglect shaping who he is, but ultimately I would've liked to see more of the "wanting to watch the world burn" mentality from the character. Also his stand-up career never stood a chance in this universe.
I loved the ending of this film. We have riots break out, madness ensues and it results in the iconic alleyway scene with Thomas and Martha Wayne's demise. The fact that the film kept the killer anonymous as a goon was perfect. I hate when writers try to make an infamous Batman villain the culprit when clearly that's not the point at all. Villainy can come from anywhere, and Batman should result from a random shooting not from the Joker killing his parents in the past. I was so worried that would happen, but it didn't so brava. The movie overall was enjoyable to watch, but it was right there on the edge of being great. With tweaking to the script it could've gotten there.