Great acting, lackluster story, depressing to watch

Rating: 7/10 (7 October 2019)

First of all, Joaquin Phoenix was great as the Joker, his acting was spot on.
This is a character piece that explores the downward spiral of a crazy person. The Joker character is definitely not the same Joker portrayed in the Dark Knight series. Heath Ledger's Joker was smart, witty, funny at times and crazy. Joaquin's Joker is psychopathic, depressed, socially awkward and moronic.
In all, watching someone turn from just crazy to a psychopathic killer can be interesting if there's some kind of struggle between good and evil but there is no good guy in the show. If Batman existed in this show, Joaquin's Joker would not compete because he's just not smart or resourceful enough.
I would compare Joker with shows like Taxi Driver, or There will be blood. They're all character development stories but are very depressing and tough to watch.