Watched this the other night.
It's an extremely dark movie with a very depressing outlook. Regardless, I have to say it was excellent. Joaquin Phoenix' performance was outstanding. His portrayal of mental illness is hard to describe, and is mostly what this movie is about. It's creepy on a whole new level, but also incredibly human. A very physical performance. I never thought of him as an actor with particularly physical approach, the way you might think of Brad Pitt in Fight Club, or Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator, or even Heath Ledger's version of Joker. In some of the scenes, Phoenix subtly manages to invoke images of the 1960s TV show version of Joker (played by Cesar Romero). Always thought Phoenix was a very capable actor, but this an all-world performance.
Of the many Batman related shows, movies, and characters, this is by far, the darkest and perhaps most realistic, when examing the potential origin of an "arch villain." I don't usually get too excited when they reboot one of these comic book franchises, but I have to say, this has enormous potential as a reboot.
Not a good movie to see if you need cheering up, but I highly recommend it for the movie it is. No cgi based superhero crap. Just dark, grim life, told with a view from the underbelly of society.
It's an extremely dark movie with a very depressing outlook. Regardless, I have to say it was excellent. Joaquin Phoenix' performance was outstanding. His portrayal of mental illness is hard to describe, and is mostly what this movie is about. It's creepy on a whole new level, but also incredibly human. A very physical performance. I never thought of him as an actor with particularly physical approach, the way you might think of Brad Pitt in Fight Club, or Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator, or even Heath Ledger's version of Joker. In some of the scenes, Phoenix subtly manages to invoke images of the 1960s TV show version of Joker (played by Cesar Romero). Always thought Phoenix was a very capable actor, but this an all-world performance.
Of the many Batman related shows, movies, and characters, this is by far, the darkest and perhaps most realistic, when examing the potential origin of an "arch villain." I don't usually get too excited when they reboot one of these comic book franchises, but I have to say, this has enormous potential as a reboot.
Not a good movie to see if you need cheering up, but I highly recommend it for the movie it is. No cgi based superhero crap. Just dark, grim life, told with a view from the underbelly of society.
