Joaquin Pheonix lives up to the hype

Rating: 10/10 (12 February 2020)

TLDR: Believe the hype, this movie is incredible.
First things first, the score and Pheonix' performance are haunting and compliment one another beautifully, if anything you must see this movie as it is some of the best acting I've ever seen. This is the grittiest and most authentic depiction of mental illness to hit the big screen in my memory while simultaneously being the best comic book movie of the decade. All too often it feels as though the directors of superhero films forego details and realism in favor of maintaining a PG-13 rating. It makes mature moments in such titles feel cheap or corny, or they're chock full of garbage tier jokes for fear the ADHD ridden teenagers stacking theaters might miss the whole movie. This film holds no punches, cracks no jokes, and almost completely does away CGI. It's also clear that the director looked into real public programs for the mentally ill from that time period, as well as the horrible abuse Arthur suffered and how these factors coalesced making his metamorphosis into the Joker possible.
The cinematography, editing, and camera work are all expertly done as well, but again the real attraction here is Pheonix's performance. He chose a very odd ballet style sachet for most of the movie, it feels unpolished and rough at the beginning and adds to how uncomfortable his character makes you feel. I found some shots hard to look at for extended periods of time, Arthur oozes self loathing in his forced smiles and small details like laughing at the wrong times during the stand up shows he attends. By the end of the movie however, he is almost dancing across the screen with such fluidity and confidence that it's clear Arthur is gone and the Joker has finally emerged. This progression may not have been rehearsed or intentional, but the depth of the character depicted just by movement alone is incredible to behold.
I wanted to dislike this movie, I went into watching it not believing the hype and hoping that the critics were right to dislike it but here I am making an IMDB account just to gush about it. Watch it, watch it again, and remember this is the quality of super hero/comic book movies we should demand from here on out.