Joker Review: 9 Ups & 3 Downs

1. Joaquin Phoenix's Performance

As if you didn't already know, every metric tonne of effusive praise that has been shovelled happily onto Joaquin Phoenix's performance is completely earned.

In a role that he could have used as nothing more than exploitation with a healthy side of pantomime caricaturing on the side, he is subtly brilliant. His is a layered performance of incredible expertise, which will take a lot of watching to catch absolutely everything that goes into it.

At times he's barely human, at others he's horribly so. He's a cocoon and a butterfly and festering maggots all at once and if he is not only nominated but also wins Best Actor when the Oscars come around, that whole awards machine is broken. Look out for more in-depth analysis of his performance on this site very soon.

And now to the negatives...