I don't know.

Rating: 7/10 (19 January 2020)

I was torn after watching the movie. I want to say it was bad but I don't think that's really fair. I just don't think it works. Kudos to Phoenix and Phillips, etc. for their work on it, but the story is simple, the themes are obvious and I think it suffers from a fatal flaw, which is: dark character studies work when their characters have depth and complexity.
The Joker is very flat by design. He's the antithesis of Batman. He represents (in the world in which he was created, at least) pure chaos and anarchy. He is emptiness and lack of meaning. Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy worked. This does not. And I know it sounds like I'm just saying it's a rip off or something, but I'm not. Travis Bickle was multifaceted. The Joker is one note. And after thinking about why the movie didn't click for me I think that's the major difference.
Glad I watched it, won't watch again.