Flawless Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (7 October 2019)

I made an account just to review this film. I have been hyped since the first trailer dropped (which I must have watched several dozen times, and several more in the run up to the release), and had the pleasure of seeing it last night.
This was hands down one of the greatest cinematic experiences I have had the pleasure of being part of. There's nothing I can say that hasn't been said already. The hype is honestly real and deserved.
Everything from Joaquin Phoenix's performance to the music score, directing, and especially the writing, was flawless. This was such a beacon of hope in a time when big blockbuster CG films are all the rage. All that matters when you strip that away are characters. If you don't have great characters, no matter how pretty your film looks, it's not worth the time of day - and this film proves that. I hope more directors and writers learn a thing or two from this. And I don't mean to copy: I mean to write better characters and stories.
I'll touch on the negative media reviews quickly by just saying: once in a blue moon, a masterful piece of art like this comes around, and of course the media try to create a moral panic around it. I won't deny that aspects and themes of the film are relevant to this day and age. After all, art is a reflection of the society it was created in. There's two levels to art: face value and what the piece itself represents at its core, and then its wider connections to the real world. It's up to us how we interpret it, and that's what art is supposed to do - to get people talking. This film has certainly done that, and it's a good thing. It's one of those films that will be studied and looked back on in a hundred years, for both its cinematic marvels as well as its relevance to today.
tl;dr 9999999999999/10 would watch again