I didn't see any previews or read any reviews, went into this completely blind other than knowing it was somewhat of an origin story about the Joker. Overall I thought the movie was really well done, but I realized that this isn't really my kind of movie, maybe I'm more of a Marvel type person...
The depiction of this was a very, very realistic rendition about how the "Joker" might have come to beg. And in that regard it's a little bit scary. There's no glamour, no movie magic, gimmicks, or special effects, this is very much as realistic of an approach I've ever seen to a comic book like character. The only thing that comes close IMO are the M. Night Shyamalan movies "Unbreakable", "Split", and "Glass" which I very much enjoyed, but even those involve abilities and some suspension of disbelief, but if you liked this kind of movie then those movies are in the same category of realism, or at least a setting of realism.
As for the actor, Phoenix did a remarkable job, he's certainly not one of my favorite actors by any means and I've only seen him in a couple movies, where incidentally he played the bad guy, but I have to give him credit as he did a wonderful job playing the abused, dark, and disturbed Arthur. Far as rooting for the bad guy, this movie certainly sets you up to feel for Arthur from the very beginning. He's a guy who's basically been dealt a bad hand from the beginning, and if anything really shows the mental instability of his character, and to a large degree how he's a product of the environment he was brought up in. In that unique sense, and from a certain perspective, pretty much everything he does is justified. I'm certainly not saying I agree with any of it, but you can plainly see why he does the things he does and is certainly a cause and effect situation.
I came out of the movie saying "Wow..." and started to stir on it for hours afterwards. I very much like action, horror, sci-fi & drama. So this is every bit up my spectrum of movies that I enjoy. But I certainly didn't come out of the movie feeling good or energized by any means. My biggest criteria and measuring stick for a movie is simply "entertainment." Was I entertained? Very much so... Did I enjoy it? Not really, and this for me is a rarity but there are a few movies I've seen over the years that fit into that exact category.
So... to sum up. It is a masterpiece in what it's trying to do, and is very entertaining, so I give it a 10 in that regard. But I honestly didn't really like it that much either, it's very dark, disturbing, and pretty much a downer from start to finish and you leave feeling drained and empty. In that regard I give it a 2. Thus my final score of a 6 is what I rate it. I realize IMDB currently has this pegged as an 8.9, which is ridiculously high, and I can to some degree understand why in that it's very unique. I guess in the end what I learned about myself is I like dark movies if they either aren't serious, or realistic. But for me a large reason of why I enjoy movies is to get away from the real world, so I can see why in this instance because its dark, and because it was realistic, why I didn't really like it...
The depiction of this was a very, very realistic rendition about how the "Joker" might have come to beg. And in that regard it's a little bit scary. There's no glamour, no movie magic, gimmicks, or special effects, this is very much as realistic of an approach I've ever seen to a comic book like character. The only thing that comes close IMO are the M. Night Shyamalan movies "Unbreakable", "Split", and "Glass" which I very much enjoyed, but even those involve abilities and some suspension of disbelief, but if you liked this kind of movie then those movies are in the same category of realism, or at least a setting of realism.
As for the actor, Phoenix did a remarkable job, he's certainly not one of my favorite actors by any means and I've only seen him in a couple movies, where incidentally he played the bad guy, but I have to give him credit as he did a wonderful job playing the abused, dark, and disturbed Arthur. Far as rooting for the bad guy, this movie certainly sets you up to feel for Arthur from the very beginning. He's a guy who's basically been dealt a bad hand from the beginning, and if anything really shows the mental instability of his character, and to a large degree how he's a product of the environment he was brought up in. In that unique sense, and from a certain perspective, pretty much everything he does is justified. I'm certainly not saying I agree with any of it, but you can plainly see why he does the things he does and is certainly a cause and effect situation.
I came out of the movie saying "Wow..." and started to stir on it for hours afterwards. I very much like action, horror, sci-fi & drama. So this is every bit up my spectrum of movies that I enjoy. But I certainly didn't come out of the movie feeling good or energized by any means. My biggest criteria and measuring stick for a movie is simply "entertainment." Was I entertained? Very much so... Did I enjoy it? Not really, and this for me is a rarity but there are a few movies I've seen over the years that fit into that exact category.
So... to sum up. It is a masterpiece in what it's trying to do, and is very entertaining, so I give it a 10 in that regard. But I honestly didn't really like it that much either, it's very dark, disturbing, and pretty much a downer from start to finish and you leave feeling drained and empty. In that regard I give it a 2. Thus my final score of a 6 is what I rate it. I realize IMDB currently has this pegged as an 8.9, which is ridiculously high, and I can to some degree understand why in that it's very unique. I guess in the end what I learned about myself is I like dark movies if they either aren't serious, or realistic. But for me a large reason of why I enjoy movies is to get away from the real world, so I can see why in this instance because its dark, and because it was realistic, why I didn't really like it...