Bold, devastating and utterly beautiful!

Rating: Null/10 (6 January 2020)

Prepare to be devastated by Joker. Not so much by the intense madness and blood-spewing violence that is sometimes hard to watch, or the overwhelming central performance by Joaquin Phoenix in the title role, but by the vision and artistry of the film itself. Even if you hate it, it's unlike anything you've ever seen before-like waking up next to a poisonous snake nestled on your blanket, poised and ready to strike. You're horrified but unable to move. Regardless of my mixed feelings, I think it's the best film about the psychological effect of violence as pop art since Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange.
Vigorously directed by Todd Phillips, who also co-wrote the unique if uneven screenplay with Scott Silver, and beautifully shot by Lawrence Sher, Joker traces the history of the popular DC Comics villain and Batman's arch enemy in totally original terms. After award-winning performances by Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger in the role, you may think you know the Joker, but who is he and where did he come from?