Joker

The amazing performance by Joaquin Phoenix in Joker is on the same level as Jack Nicholson's portrayal of McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  Unfortunately the movie is undeserving of the performance, with the writers and director seemingly confused as to whether they wanted to make a comic book movie or a serious film.  This may seem like a contradiction if you know how much I admire Nolan's Batman series; the difference is that Nolan made serious comic book films.  Todd Phillips, the director of Joker, comes so close to conducting a compelling examination of a deeply troubled man, but allows psychological thriller clichés, and forced comic book references distract from the central story.  The what's real, and what's in his head flashbacks worked really well in Fight Club, but that was a comic book of a movie.  I get that this movie was sold to the studio as a Joker origin story, and is meant to lend relevance to the genre like Logan did a few years back, but a few references to Wayne family members that could have been replaced by any rich family seemed completely unnecessary and out of place.  Honestly it would have been better if the movie would have been named after the main character, with no explicit references to the Batman comics; then perhaps a fan theory would have developed with people arguing that Arthur Fleck is really the Joker, and that would have been a truly interesting contribution to pop culture.  But movies are business, and a film about some average Joe with a mental disorder wouldn't have been enough to sell tickets; so instead of a great film, we get a great performance in a forgettable movie.