Good but Overhyped

Rating: 7/10 (12 December 2019)

I want to start by saying Joaquin's performance is outstanding and if he receives the oscar for best actor I would say that it's justified. This movie however is not the masterpiece many people are claiming it to be. Where a lot of people praise it for going where no other movie has gone before, I feel it didn't go far enough. There are some disturbing moments but they are all highly predictable. And as a film which is basically about a guy who falls deeper and deeper into mental illness it is too pretty and polished for me. I wanted to be surprised, I wanted to be shocked, I wanted to be disgusted, but I wasn't. The acting saves it and if it wasn't for the excellent performances by Phoenix, De Niro and Conroy, the score wouldn't even be a 7 for me.