This Origin story is no joke!

Rating: 10/10 (17 October 2019)

Getting straight to It, this film lived up to the hype and was a genuine masterpiece! Best film of 2019 by a country mile!
Anyone who has played the Joker has brought something different to make it their own, taking inspiration from different comic representations of the Clown Prince of Crime. Some fantastic (Heath Ledger), some not quite so much (Jared Leto).
Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal must be stamped as the definitive Joker origin story on screen. Certainly taking influence from some of the comic source material, but at the same time allowing itself the creative freedom to go in a few new directions.
It is at times; funny, painful, uncomfortable to watch, thrilling and captivating all at the same time. Phoenix's Oscar worthy performance is incredibly intense and he plays Arthur Fleck slowly reaching his mental breaking point with an agonising awkwardness.
When he casts aside his personal tragic baggage and embraces his Joker persona without resistance, Arthur Fleck's transformation is almost seen as liberating. From that point on, Joker is literally dancing to his own tune, with complete indifference to the world around him....he takes joy in his actions, and his own subjective, cruelly twisted perspective.
Whilst the film is firmly set in the DC universe (in 1981), with brief reference to the Wayne family tragedy with creates Batman, it still manages to have some poignant contemporary themes on class divide and social welfare.
A man in need of help, with genuine problems, is let down by society and allowed to fall through the cracks, becoming something far worse in process. A Joker who sees himself and the world around him as a cruel joke, with a savage punch line.