Dangerously uncomfortable,

Rating: 10/10 (9 October 2019)

One of the most brilliant acting performances I have seen this year. Joaquin makes sure every eye is turned squarely on him, whether in the story or in the theater. You find yourself empathizing with Anthony in the first third, with the world against him, being kicked by young boys in the very first sequence, to losing his job. He's a nobody, and you feel for him. This starts to unravel in the next third, where you're struggling to find justification for why you sympathized with him, and the last part hits you hard, making a fool out of you for trying to justify a violent dangerous man's actions.
Joker is a masterpiece, carefully balancing Anthony's everyday actions with an almost eerie background score warning you of potential danger that lies ahead. It shows the destruction of a man into a new entity, who is remorseless, broken, dangerous and unpredictable- the Joker.
I loved the portrayal of Thomas Wayne as a typical rich businessman, and not the hero we're led to believe with the previous films, was brilliant, because the movie is from the point of view of a lonely lowly man like Anthony. I also loved the interaction between Bruce Wayne and Anthony, you could see the hunger and jealousy and the resentment in the eyes of Anthony when he talked to Bruce, believing that Bruce's life could have been his.
I love the parallel of showing how Bruce's innocent life ended with his parent's lives, and at the same time, Anthony's life too ended, in a way, by him fully accepting the Joker persona.
The movie is one of the best there is, without the use of CGI, without it being 3D, it's just a trodden man's descent into madness that is shown masterfully. Superhero/Origin Story fatigued? This breaks the shackles.
PS. Joaquin has played the Joker better than Heath Ledger, and this is the highest compliment I can give him.