I'm not sure I ever thought it was ground-breaking, since it treads in the footsteps of a lot of Scorsese's films, but I do think that it spun things in a way that made it feel fresh(er), particularly given the glut of Xeroxed superhero films these days.
For me, I found it refreshing alone for the idea that they had taken a comic book movie and done something other than the action-comedy blend that Marvel just keeps stamping out for billions of dollars. I love that they said, "Nah, we're going to take a risk, and we won't pre-tie it in with a bunch of already greenlit sequels and spinoffs in a vain attempt to make yet another "cinematic universe".
Joaquin's performance was brilliant, I thought, and I am surprised you didn't think it was terrific.
What I really enjoyed about it was that it took big issues - mental health, class warfare - and turned them into a personal story to let us think about those things. These are complex problems and I don't think Joker dumbed them down, pandered, or even soapboxed about it. Is the film critical of therapists? Yes: Arthur's therapist isn't always attentive and lets him down. But it also shows us how frustrated mental health workers can become thanks to the thankless red tape systems around them. We also have the politics of social classes. Does Joker criticize riotous mobs of citizens baying for blood? Sure does. Wait, though, is it also critical of callous rich people stamping the downtrodden? Sure does.
It never felt like the movie was lecturing me, but always felt like it was showing me the difficult struggles of these worlds. All that, plus it used the themes and messages (if they can be called that) to reveal character and make Arthur's struggles paramount. Add to that an unreliable narrator technique and a movie that has a good look to it (Hey! A comic book movie that doesn't look like all the other ones!) and that's a win in my book.
Ultimately, of course, if you didn't dig it, that's cool. I respect that. But, I did want to lay out some of my reasons why I really like the movie.
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