Chilling and deep

Rating: 10/10 (5 October 2019)

Arthur(Phoenix, Oscar-worthy yet again) is a clown for hire. He wants to cheer up the world. And to experience human connection. For someone to notice him without becoming verbally, frequently even physically, abusive. To be treated like a person. He struggles with mental illness. Both finding successful treatment, and for others to stop responding so negatively to his diagnosis. And while he feels perpetually lonely, he's not the only one to realize how bad things are getting, and how little those with money and influence do to help anyone but themselves.
This is deeply messed up. It makes your mind go places you never thought it would. Including, maybe especially, when funny. In other words, it nails the core, managing to also put a fresh coat of paint on an icon with nearly 80 years of history. This explores how little sympathy and empathy(the lead only loses the audience's once he becomes a monster) is shown towards the least powerful people in society. However, it's not exclusively(albeit chiefly) about those with psychological issues. It also goes into poverty. How little those that could easily address these things even try to properly comprehend the problems. I'm not saying there's a solution that would not require time, political will and accountability for those who use their clout to try to fight these efforts. What I am saying is that we need those I'm talking about to join in the process.
Taxi Driver very clearly shaped a lot of this, to incredible effect, and this film is as amazing as that one. This is the first live-action version(at least in the last 30+ years, I will grant that I am not very familiar with the takes that go back further than that) where you can understand how the Joker ends up with his signature look in a realistic world. A vigilante using martial arts and gadgets would have felt hugely out of place in this, so I'm thrilled nothing like that appears(Bruce is a child here), and I hope that this remains standalone, rather than Joaquin facing off against Batman. Keeping in mind that I love The Dark Knight trilogy.
I rarely give anything the highest possible score. To me, it means that while the movie isn't perfect(that is a status that should be strived for: it can never truly be reached), there is no weakness within it that is not greatly outweighed by its positives. That's not even a contest when it comes to this. I can't put into words how grateful I am to everyone who worked on this for being able to say that about it.
There is some bloody violence in this, a little of it immensely brutal. I recommend this to everyone who is passionate about the titular character. 10/10