I saw it on the 5th and it pissed me off for a couple of reasons: One, it makes a mockery of people in mental health recovery by portraying us all as maniacs. The depiction of mental health treatment was not tasteful at all and it could have been done a lot better and in a way that was more respectful to people like me who've been in mental health treatment all their lives. I was actually angry when the movie was over. Two, this isn't the Joker from the comic books, the Joker I know is a criminal mastermind. The guy Joaquin Phoenix plays in this movie is a sniveling invalid who can barely take care of himself. The Joker has to be a little fun/funny to work as a character and this version goes full sad clown and paints a bleak portrait of a man who is obviously incapable of being the Joker. I was so pissed off when the movie was over, but I sat through it the whole way through so I couldn't get my money back.
I saw it. I liked it. The acting by Joaquin Phoenix was very good. I am concerned about how people may possibly get the wrong idea about people with mental illnesses, like Benway mentioned. However, I was more upset about how the media journalized it. The media constantly fueled the idea that the Joker was the embodiment of privilege and entitlement. When I saw it, I found its depiction of the joker far from that. The character was marginalized due to his mental illness, and it disgusted me on how the media glossed over that. While I prefer the Joker as a criminal mastermind, I can see how this movie can fit in to that canon. I know very little about the Batman universe, but I can see how the Joker would be on the path towards bettering himself in becoming more calculating, educated, etc.
I hated the movie. The movie shows Joker as having every possible mental illness when the Joker in the comic books has, at the worst, Asperger's. The Joker is supposed to be a criminal mastermind, not some guy living with his mom. All this movie was was a rip off of Fight Club and Falling Down but with Batman characters. The writer of the film is clearly a pop culture junky and used his influence to write what is basically bad fan fiction and then secure funding for several million dollars' worth of budget to make a depressing movie because I guess that's what people like these days. It's like Bojack Horseman: labeled as a comedy, not funny at all and makes me want to swallow a bottle of cyanide.
I thought it was interesting to see a different take on the Joker. I've seen interviews saying that it was a movie that tried to stray from the comic as much as possible, which got me disappointed from the start. When I saw the movie, I was pretty impressed by Joaquin's performance as the Joker, given how Jared's joker was protrayed. There were a few moments in the movie that I wish could have done better or added in a few more scenes.
The film showed the “genesis” of the joker ... sort of 10-20 years before he was the arch villain / opponent of Batman. Remember Bruce Wayne was only a kid in the film. So his development in to the full character had some way to go. I have my own history with mental health and medications and did not take offence at the plot. I thought it was poignant that the trigger of his descent was withdrawal of funding for his mental health provider and withdrawal from medications for example.
Going to be honest - I typically dislike superhero/action movies. They just aren't my thing. But I actually really liked this one. I found the plot to be gripping. Love or hate its depiction of mental health/privilege, I found it thought provoking for many subcategories of mental health, privilege and class. I found myself leaving the theatres thinking that it was one hell of a way to deliver the message, but for certain things, they do have a point.
