"My life is nothing but a comedy."

Rating: 10/10 (29 October 2019)

Right out of the gate you can forget about considering this a comic book movie. It may be based on a comic book character, but the character development and story line can be taken right from the pages of modern day horrors brought about by poverty, abusive parents, disrespect for authority, the distance between the haves and the have-nots, and an uncaring society at large. With a plot often times structured on ambiguity, the film explores the troubled mind of one Arthur Fleck, brilliantly portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix in what may eventually go down as the crowning achievement of his acting career. No offense intended to Jokers who have gone before, but Phoenix's take on the character now becomes the standard for others to follow, but virtually impossible to match. I must say, the hype engendered by the film prior to it's release relative to the amount of violence portrayed appears to be seriously overstated. Yes, there is violence on Arthur Fleck's part, all of it gruesome, but it virtually pales in comparison to what one might experience in any chapter of the 'Saw' series for example, or any number of slasher/gore flicks that rely on buckets of blood to 'entertain' fans of that persuasion. Together, director Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix have created a complex character and a complex film dealing with the horrific and sordid side of mental illness that finds it's release in savage, sociopathic behavior. Though he may be called the Joker, as Arthur Fleck himself would surely attest, "...no one's laughing now".