Wanted to make a thread on its own for those who had seen the movie to discuss it.

My review:


8/10

There's a lot to digest and I had mixed feelings throughout, but ultimately it was a solid satisfying well-shot story about a man descending into violent madness, which is what was advertised. I was a little bit concerned that the film was too eager to abandon its comic book roots, but it didn't shy away from existing in Gotham and acknowledging central events, characters, and themes. There are multiple "political" angles you could view the movie from, and they're interesting to dissect, but it's more a character study than a societal statement. My main criticism of the movie would be that some of the early attempts to invoke pity feel contrived, and that you can find yourself rooting for him for a lot of the movie, which in my view kind of takes it a step too far in "humanizing" him and does a disservice to the evil of the character. But at the same time, you're not seeing the Joker for most of the film, you're seeing the man who becomes him through a gradual evolution. In the end a lot of what makes him tick is narcissism, and they capture that extremely well. I didn't think the film outright promoted dangerous ideas, but some who have concerns that the film celebrates vengeful violence may have a point.

In any case, definitely worth seeing. This is one I'll have to think about more, watch again, and talk with people about to get a more solid idea of what the movie means to me and what it says about #society. I expect some people to go overboard and call it a masterpiece because of Joaquin Pheonix's acting; it wasn't that for me. But it was a damn interesting and entertaining movie that took risks. Can't ask for much more than that.