It was about mental illness, systems of power, political and social conditions reacting to one another as well as putting additional pressure on the mentally ill, demagogues, figureheads, socio-political movements, classism, and celebrity.
Any actor can't just do what Phoenix did. I thought his performance was brilliant and he tapped into something very unique and moving with this character.
I think it was an insightful film, although quite damning of a lot of society as well as of several different zealous factions today. It's also kinda damning of factionalism in-general.
It was, as you point out, also kinda refreshing to have a comic book film delivered for a standard run length, without executives already planning thirteen sequels and/or spinoffs, and with the film aimed at a grown-up audience instead of a teenage one.
The attempt that the movie made to mess with the formula and to try to do its own thing is pretty admirable in and of itself. Succeed or fail, there's something laudable about trying a new(ish) thing.
reply
share