You can believe the hype - this is a masterful performance

Rating: 9/10 (16 October 2019)

Walked in the cinema with massive expectations and was not disappointed. Not one bit.
Joker is a cinema master piece, portraying a man's descend into madness, in an Oscar worthy performance by Joaquin Phoenix (seriously, who else can contend for this?) that keeps your eyes glued to the screen.
This is the definition of a psychological thriller done right.
Interestingly, it also says something about today's society - Jack Nicholson's joker (probably more in line with the comics) was a madman because he fell into toxic waste. Todd Phillip's Joker is insane because of his context, his background, ultimately the society drove him mad. Powerful message here.
Unbelievable that, aside from Joker, Todd Phillip's credits are in movies like The Hangover or Borat (screenplay). He absolutely pulled off this change in style, both in writing and directing (although will you still definitely laugh in some bits of Joker).
PS: If you enjoyed the Joker, definitely recommend watching Taxi Driver and/or The King of Comedy - both Sorcese films starring De Niro which have been said to greatly inspire the role of this Joker