Overrated.

Rating: 2/10 (1 March 2020)

Let me start off by saying that this is not a badly made movie. It has clever writing, deep themes, and I admire the work of director, Todd Phillips.
But I hated this movie. And trust me, I didn't want to hate it. I went into the cinema off the back of hearing all the positive reviews and the "8 minute standing ovation" from the Venice Film Festival (I think that's where it was, I'll have to double check). So yes, you could say I went in with high expectations.
This movie just wasn't for me. Not because of its violence and gore; although that one scene where the protagonist's co-worker is left terrified after witnessing a brutal murder and can't reach the door had my audience laughing, which was somewhat disturbing to me.
But what was truly disturbing was the journey of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) - his descent into a mentally ill loner to a caricature of the Joker - which left me in a constant state of discomfort and nausea from start to finish.
Yes, Joaquin's acting was good. He was able to make me feel sympathy for the character from his first scene - making it all the more unsettling when he becomes the Joker and commits horrific acts of violence in the movie.
But when you look beyond this, the moving is extremely uneventful. I don't mind that it doesn't have a huge action set piece, but if I wasn't uncomfortable from start to finish I would instead been simply bored .
This is not the best movie of 2019 in my opinion. Granted, it's not as bad as 'Charlie's Angels', but I still found it to long slog; one which I will likely never watch again.
I'll reiterate that I really didn't want to hate this movie. Even in this review I don't want all over this movie because I know that people really love it, and that is GREAT!
But it just wasn't for me.
Overrated, uneventful, and deeply disturbing.