Best Film I've Seen in Years

Rating: 10/10 (18 November 2019)

The people who didn't like this film are the people who expected it to be something it isn't.
This isn't a Marvel film. There isn't much action, it is rarely humorous, and it's primary objective isn't to keep you entertained. I wouldn't call it a superhero (or villain) film at all, even though it's set in Gotham city, and we follow the man who becomes the Joker. This is the type of film that holds a mirror up to society and we are encouraged to take an uncomfortable look at ourselves.
Anyone who has worked with, or studied people with mental illness, will find that this film rings incredibly true. This isn't about one event that triggers Athur's fall. This is about how trauma, abuse, familial mental illness, poverty and social isolation can create an incredibly toxic environment which leads to mental illness and even violence. As Arthur wrote in his journal: "The worst part of having a mental illness is people expect you to behave as if you don't". Society rejects those who are strange. We isolate them, laugh at them, ostracize them. And then we take no responsibility when these people come to hate the society that surrounds them, or when they might take extreme measures to feel visible. It's not a comfortable conversation, no one wants to sympathise with monsters. But monsters aren't born, they're created. Joker demonstrates perfectly how social rejection and isolation can take mental instability from bad to dangerous, and how a more compassionate society, with better mental health services could lead to less violence.
Joker is one of the best films I've seen in years. It is beautifully made and Phoenix is incredible as Arthur/Joker. But more importantly, this film is trying to say something that really needs to be heard.