Phoenix rises!

Rating: 10/10 (20 October 2019)

I've watched and rated 2,183 movies on IMDB.
Rarely have I given a movie a 10/10 rating. "On The Water Front," "The Imitation Game," "White Heat," "Rocky," "It's a Wonderful Life," "Brian's Song," "How Green was my Valley," and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," have earned 10s from me. I've written biographies for over 100 actors, directors, producers and others involved with movies and television. I've watched every genre of movie from "The Human Centipede (Do NOT watch it - filthy gore!)", Brokeback Mountain, Blue is the Warmest Color, House of 1000 corpses, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, The Toxic Avenger, 12 Years a Slave and many more. Most of the movies I watch and rate aren't worth ever watching again.
"Joker." When we walked out of the theater, I was trying to remember who was in the movie other than Joaquin Phoenix. I mean, Robert De Niro is it and his performance, while well done, wasn't even a shadow of Joaquin Phoenix's performance. About 5 minutes into the movie you stop thinking, "That's Joaquin Phoenix" and thinking, "I hope this is as good as they say," because the movie pulls you into.
Joker is a part of almost every human being who has walked this earth. He's been abused, he's believed lies that he thought were true, he's had his world turned upside down, he's felt lost and alone, he's looked for love, he's wished for better things, he's worked to try to make his life better and failed, he loves his mother, has been fired from his job, has had a friend turn on him, has had his dreams stomped on, etc, etc, etc... You see his life in the span of the 2 hours and 2 minutes in the theater. You feel every ounce of his pain. You feel his sorrow, you feel his hope, you feel his confusion. Joaquin Phoenix draws you in as deeply as any actor has ever done. As I watched this movie with my wife, I was constantly amazed at that the twist and turns caught me so off guard.
Until now, I've never felt that there was a movie that would ever top, "On the Water Front," or "It's a Wonderful Life." Perhaps this one doesn't top them but the main character draws you in just as deeply as Brando and Stewart's characters did in their respective movies.
This movie isn't so much about entertainment as it is about being a tour through the human mind, following the path from a passive introvert as he turns 180 degrees around and has suddenly evolved into a monster.
The cinematography and colors are wonderful and add a dimension to the movie, just as the music does.
But I think the most important part of this movie is that the director, Todd Phillips, took his hands of the reins of Joker and let Phoenix explore every nuance of his personality and develop one of the most fantastic characters in the history of movies. Phoenix controls the screen, not with a heavy handed manner, but as human being going through torments and sorrow that you can't take your eyes away from.