Not only Joaquin Phoenix but also Todd Philips.

Rating: 9/10 (4 December 2019)

It's perfectly understandable that Joaquin Phoenix's performance is so strong that made Joker the colossal success that it is, but the movie aids his performance with a daring script, a notorious direction and a somber tone that makes everything dramatic and disturbing. The tension is a slow burn, it keeps adding up until it eventually explodes on key moments, showing exactly where Arthur Fleck's mindstate is at. Narratively speaking, tension build-up is one of the major points that prove Joker is a superlative film, worthy of all the praise it received, along with most of the elements that comprise it. Any flaw can simply be overlooked, because it almost touches perfection. That is the result of a magnificently complex character and a virtuosic performance that loudly shouts Oscar.
Robert De Niro is in tip-top shape, delivering one of his finest performances in years of forgettable appearences in minor productions.
Todd Philips' Joker is a film everyone should see, you will probably see it because of Phoenix's performance, but you will finish it reflecting not only on his superb performance but on how conditioned a conflicted mind can be by the most discriminative side of an indifferent civilization, prompting them to go to unexpected and somewhat tragic and fatal lenghts.
A powerful, formidable film that will be very hard to forget for decades to come.