An absolute masterpiece. Critics are offended by this movie and here's why....

Rating: 10/10 (7 October 2019)

I will start off by saying I had very high hopes for this movie, but was not expecting it to live up to the hype. Neither was I expecting Joaquin Phoenix to even get close to measuring up to Heath Ledger's Dark Knight performance. I will admit I am a huge fanboy of Ledger, so when I say that Phoenix blew me away and gave an equally amazing performance in this film and that this movie is probably the best movie made during this decade, I absolutely mean that.
This movie is more than just an origin story. It's an in depth view of how someone becomes a villain and the factors that lead to it. To start off, yes, Arthur Fleck, aka the Joker, is mentally unstable and suffers a condition that forces him to laugh in situations he shouldn't laugh in. Mix this with his anxiety, he is put in positions that are extremely uncomfortable that he doesn't want to be in. It also doesn't help that his social worker doesn't listen to him and is disgruntled by the fact that the government she works for doesn't value her profession enough to keep it alive. Arthur Fleck is a good person at heart in the beginning and is trying his absolute best to be happy and make people happy. But as the movie goes on, his attempts to do everything in his power are crushed, and ultimately, he hits a breaking point, leading the Joker to become a psychotic murderer.
This above mentioned point is why I think critics and the media are quick to dismiss this movie, because it does not fit the "guns and weapons" are the problem narrative. If you look at any tragedy that happens, what get blamed? The weapon, or ideology in 99% of the cases. The media does this because it advances an agenda that they align themselves with. Heaven forbid the people committed the crime was actually just mentally ill and just looking for validation for their actions. Or better yet, will get recognition and fame from, you guessed it, the media.
Now, where does the Joker fit in to the above mentioned point? Why I loved this movie so much is that the Joker sees validation for his actions. At first, the first murder is shocking, he's scared, and honestly the first murders could be justified as self defense. But as the media portray's the support he receives, he starts to think that what he is doing is ok, and ultimately there are some people that view him as a hero. Why, because the media allowed this happen and society validated it by supporting him.
Aside from this point, the movie itself is phenomenally done. This is hands down the best origin story to have been made. It's brutally honest, it's dark, it's violent, and very uncomfortable at times. Phoenix's performance is the best I've ever seen him do. He deserves the Oscar, and quite honestly this movie deserves best picture. But it probably won't win it because it doesn't 1) Say everyone that is white is a racist or 2) Have a liberal agenda. or 3) Say guns are the reason for mass shootings, 4) Say's "Orange man bad".
Critics are out of touch, and honestly are an invalid profession. Critic is another word for "someone who gets paid to share an opinion." At the time of this review, the movie has a 9.0/10 rating from ~150K users, with a metascore of 58 from less than 100. Listen to the masses instead of the "Elite" who claim to know better than you. This movie is worth the viewing.