eerily effective with polarizing content

Rating: Null/10 (13 October 2019)

In the early 1980s Gotham City has deteriorated into an incendiary cesspool of crime and apathy where the rich and powerful have cast aside lower-class residents like Arthur Fleck, a party clown who's been disregarded his entire life. In spite of this he aspires to make it as a stand-up comedian, but his troubled history and mental erosion have begun to strip away what remains of his sanity. If you're looking to bring a well-known comic book character to the big screen in a way that's never been done before then look no further: this relentlessly dark and morbid story from Todd Phillips (yes, the same one from The Hangover series) is a psychologically twisted and unnerving character study of a frightening individual's downward spiral and just how far he'll go to make a name for himself. Intense, riveting, allegorical but equally audacious, chaotic and off-putting with a sluggish first half, how much actual enjoyment is derived from watching it is in the eye of the beholder, but there's no denying the work of Phoenix (with shades of Christian Bale) who dominates the screen with his unflinching portrait of the damaged protagonist...not for the faint of heart. **Â½