A very dark take on an iconic character

Rating: 7/10 (3 October 2019)

At the premiere I have had the privileged to attend last night there was not a single seat left available. Every seat in the theatre was taken and with good reason. The hype and anticipation of Phoenix as the Joker is reason itself for a mass viewing at the premiere, but there is a very very important thing to keep in mind - differentiate his masterpiece life role portrayal of the character from the movie itself (which is incredibly difficult).
1) The story. There actually is none. This is not a story driven movie so the entire movie hinges on the performance of the actors and the development of its characters. This year we have been treated with fantastic story driven movies (e.g. Endgame) with a complex narrative and satisfying development, as well as spectacular character driven movies (e.g. Once upon a time... in Hollywood) where the movie was held together and carried out solely on the backs of its characters and magnificent actors. Joker leans heavily on the latter completely eliminating any resemblance of a coherent and fluent story (which is not a bad thing if you have characters carrying the movie).
Joker unfortunately played all of its cards on Phoenix and no one else, leaving the entire movie feeling extremely empty and missing an important counterpart to the iconic role (in any shape or form). The very reason Joker functions in the DC universe is because of his relation to Batman and the balance between the crazy and the lawful (and vice versa). Eliminating any positive counterpart to Joker as a character actually gave the audience a sense of what it would be like to have the Joker without Batman.
As a result, what we are presented with is an insight into the Joker's psyche and it is dreadfully depressing, dark and sickening (literally). There is not a single silver lining or positive element present in this movie. The amount of negativity thrown on to the Joker (as the character) rivals the amount of negative energy this movie attacked the audience with. It was, however, the movie's sole intention to be like that but as a result, it will not be everyone's cup of tea. Unfortunately, the movie has not balanced the crazy, the lawful and the hopeful (as a good DC movie should [e.g. see C. Nolan's Dark Knight]) leaving only the crazy and depressed. It is, however, spectacular to witness the external portrayal of anarchy hitting Gotham parallel to the mental breakdown of the Joker. That comparison, as well as the almost dark messianic final scene, is one of the true highlights of the movie.
2) The Joker. The way Phoenix portrayed the character is simply put phenomenal. His portrayal could easily rival the magnitude of Ledger's but, it is important to note that this is not a comic book portrayal (unlike Ledger's). This was a raw and realistic portrayal of a psychopath that simply snapped and committed atrocities. His downfall can be beautifully traced from the introductory scenes to the spectacular finale and the differences were so minimal in some segments that they were difficult to spot (but were there). All up to his specific laugh that differs from those heard so far because it is difficult to listen to. The Joker always had a specific laugh, but this time we are treated with a laugh that disturbs the very core of the viewer. It is an unnatural, ill and psychotic laugh that will not easily be forgotten. It is also very difficult to watch him execute most of his plans as he is mentally breaking down at every single one of them, and the crying is especially difficult to observe because of what we saw prior to that. His portrayal is filled with sadness unlike the prior renditions.
It is noticeable that the character was treated with much respect in portrayal and direction, but such a powerful performance needed some relief. The movie offers none and that is its main flaw. He was unparalleled by other characters (who had great potential). Beetz had a spectacular character that could have done wonders to the story but was left gruesomely unfinished and disrespectfully left out. The detectives (Whigham and Camp) could have given the movie a completely new dimension of neo-noir that was simply put a missed opportunity. They had all of the needed characteristics that could rival the lawful to Joker's crazy, but were left as side characters on the very margin of the movie. Conroy was bland and forgetful, unimaginative and completely undeveloped. The reveal that presents the final punch for Joker is, after about an hour and a half of psychological beating, simply put - bland (and I am still not quite aware if that was the point). Finally, De Niro's beautiful performance gave a spectacular homage to his own portrayal in King of comedy. The only problem with his performance was the end of the movie where he had to defend societies standards and principles against the Joker. It was a right move to give this role to De Niro as he is an actor that can really pull this off, but in this segment he failed, not only against the Joker, but in delivering a sociological defence to the psychological attack of the Joker. This scene, this final pivotal scene should have rivalled Batman's: "Not everyone snaps because of one bad day...." from the iconic Killing joke. Unfortunately, De Niro's execution simply didn't have the kick it should have. Was it intentional? Maybe. If so, a bad, very bad decision.
3) The music. Dark and sad. Beautifully follows Jokers downfall and portrays his inner struggle in such a satisfactory way that the theme stays with the viewer long after the movie ends. The music's power is especially noticeable in the "bathroom dancing" scene.
4) The Joker legacy. This one is purely subjective. One either follows or doesn't follow the preset story. The Killing Joke comic book was iconic exactly because it was raw and dark, so following it more faithfully should have been the taken direction. Unfortunately, the director and screenwriters decided to toy with certain segments when they wanted to, and eliminate pivotal segments without much explanation as to why they did that. So, one either follows (as loosely as they want) the story or doesn't, but this kind of blend will not really sit well with most DC fans.
The Joker is a good movie but nothing more. It is miles away from the perfection that was Nolan's Dark Knight (and any comparison must end immediately). It has screenwriting and plot holes, it has underdeveloped and unused characters, no counterpart to the Joker or any positive and/or light segments. But it will go down remembered as Phoenix's triumphant performance followed by a spectacular soundtrack that both must be awarded with the highest of prizes.
All in all, this is a very difficult movie to watch and enjoy, But it is a triumph in acting. The movie invoked fear and anxiety and hit all the right places in order to do so. However, that does not make it a spectacular or grand movie. It just makes it difficult, at time even too difficult to view. So, proceed with caution while entering the cinema as you will probably not be amused but disturbed for the most part. Congratulations to Phoenix on that.