Some just don't get it

Rating: 9/10 (5 October 2019)

This movie is spectacular. But there are some things you have to understand before you go and blast it - this is not a movie about the Joker. It's about a man BECOMING the Joker. Because of this, the "Joker" we picture when we think of the character doesn't appear until the last 20-30 minutes of the film. The majority of it is a slow build chronicling a mentally ill man's descent into madness. This descent is a new origin story that takes more from The Killing Joke than it does classic Joker origin stories - and some people don't seem to understand that in comics, a character can be invented and reinvented and reinvented again. That's how we get characters like Miles Morales as Spider-Man. No origin is set in stone. For instance, The Dark Knight's Joker (I stand by The Dark Knight as one of the best movies of all time) has no origin that we know of. We have two unlikely stories he tells us. Batman (1989) calls the Joker "Jack Napier". So Joker (2019) doesn't follow a comic, it invents its own character. And it does so more in the style of Taxi Driver than a typical comic. It's really not a comic movie - it's a character study. And considered in that context, we have a purely excellent movie.
Phoenix is superb. Period. The music is epic. The cinematography is stunning. It's not "overly violent", it's not "too bleak". The Joker is historically a violent character, first of all. Second of all, some of the best movies of all time are "bleak". Yes, it's gritty and it's kind of realistic but not really, and that's what you have to accept. The first hour and a half is good, great even, though somewhat slow - your attention is kept by Phoenix's excellent performance and some truly phenomenal scenes. But the last half hour is where it shines, creating one of the best final acts I have ever seen in a film. And no, it doesn't spark incel rage and if you can't tell the difference between film and reality, don't watch films.