Joaquin Phoenix gives a tour de force performance, fearless and stunning in its emotional depth and physicality.
Phoenix is playing a geek with an unhinged mind, yet hes so controlled that hes mesmerizing.
He stays true to the desperate logic of Arthurs unhappiness.
Jokerhits theaters Friday, Oct. 4, following its plannedpre-Oscar stop at the Toronto International Film Festivalin September.
Thats too simple andJokerdoes anything but deliver you easy answers.
This is, we mustnt forget, the story of how a villain was made.
As Arthur/Joker, Joaquin Phoenix is astonishing.
His physicality is precise the way he moves, shuffles, runs, sits, smokes, shrinks.
His usual intensity is on full display and its captivating, even overwhelming in moments.
Its good enough to be dangerous, and bad enough to demand better.
Its going to turn the world upside down and make us all hysterical in the process.
For better or worse, its exactly the movie the Joker would want.
The honest answer is, I dont know.
Not after one viewing, anyway.
