'Joker' is disturbing, provocative, divisive and yes, very, very good

I don't think I can recall ever seeing a movie this hotly debated before it even came out. Now that Joker -- director Todd Phillips re-imagining of the classic Batman villain -- has finally arrived it has been deemed both a masterpiece and a disaster, depending on your point of view.

It will surely be one of the most controversial, talked about films of the year -- and I believe its creators wanted it to be.

Probably only time and distance will provide a fair hearing for this movie. Unfortunately fear mongering about its violence (its brutal, but not moreso than John Wick 3) and its message (which has been wildly misinterpreted, in my opinion), has poisoned the well to some degree.

Joaquin Phoenix's mind blowing performance is the one thing receiving near universal praise, and while its bound to be a hit, there are some critics and audiences that will never appreciate this film. It's definitely a dark, foreboding film, one that will make a lot of people deeply uncomfortable, which is understandably a feeling many filmgoers won't want to have.

Me, on the other hand, I like films that take me out of my comfort zone, whose ambiguity leads me to want to discuss them after the credits roll, and with plots that are unpredictable. On all these fronts, Joker is a knockout, in fact, it might just be a masterpiece.

It owes a huge debt to Taxi Driver, and especially The King of Comedy. But the casting of Robert De Niro is ample evidence that Phillips is not trying to be shy about making those connections. This film is a bit more straight-faced that those two, although it does have some of the same bleakly funny humor. At its core, it could be seen as simply an argument for better funding mental health treatment, but it's also so much more.

After all the hype, I was pleasantly surprised to be pleasantly surprised by this movie. It very cleverly weaves in the Batman/Bruce Wayne mythology while finding a way to make the Joker character, which was have already seen in so many iterations, feel fresh and new.

Heath Ledger's Joker was cool, in a kind of dangerous way. But Phoenix's Joker is by turns sad, pathetic, scary and truly disturbed. From the very first scene we understand him to be a person on the brink of collapse, which is why its absurd to think that audiences would see him as some sort of ideal to emulate. Even as he takes on this Joker persona and unleashes his inner madman, you are always aware that this is a sick person made that way by a sick world.

Phoenix gives one of the most astonishing physical performances I've ever seen. His expressive face has never been put to better use and he is in nearly every single scene of this movie bringing a intensity to every moment. I was on the edge of the seat throughout. I found this movie unsettling, not because it was advocating for the mayhem that occurs (I think quite the opposite) but just how visceral it all feels.

Phillips made the point of setting this film in the early 1980s, in a Gotham that is like a match waiting to be lit. A random incident perpetrated by the Joker ends up starting an ersatz political 'movement' which really resembles full blown anarchy. Both the character and the movie take great pains to underline how apolitical they are.

Phoenix's Joker has led a truly terrible life and his self pity is well-earned, its just how he chooses to handle it that's not remotely acceptable. And ironically, for a movie that's being misinterpreted as some sort of pro-incel nonsense, it's a movie that pretty blatantly underlines the fact that the character's shift to violence only begins when they gain access to a gun.

The movie doesn't rush the character's journey, his self- discovery feels fairly realistic for this kind of genre film. It's the most curious kind of blockbuster -- there are exciting sequences, and some downright horrifying ones -- but also quite a bit of pathos and bleak irony. The filmmakers really swung for the fences knowing that this is the kind of movie you can't not react to.

That's why I take it issue with AO Scott and critics who call the film 'boring.' It's not a movie for everybody -- certainly not kids -- but it's good and healthy to have movies that push our buttons. After so many charming but ultimately weightless Marvel movies (Black Panther being a notable exception) its refreshing to see a movie like this completely upend what is and what can be a superhero film.

And then there's the ending. I just wholeheartedly believe that if you walk out of this movie thinking we're supposed to be cheering the Joker on or romanticizing him, you're really missing the point. He is supposed be frightening and he is. He may think that he is an icon, many sociopaths have delusions of grandeur. But we see him for what he is a fascinating figure of madness.

In a just world, Phoenix would be the front-runner for Best Actor, but I fear the controversies around this film will prevent him from winning a long overdue reward. Still, I think this film and his performance will live on and I only hope when temperatures cool down, people recognize it for the game-changer it really is.