Joker

Failed stand-up comedian Arthur Fleck works as a clown in a crumbling Gotham City struggling with mental illness and dependent on social services for his medication. When budget cuts eliminate his support and a series of humiliations push him to the edge Arthur begins a descent that will transform him into the Joker. Joaquin Phoenix’s performance is a genuine tour de force — physically committed psychologically complex and deeply uncomfortable — and the film sparked genuine cultural debate about whether depicting a broken system producing a violent man constitutes endorsement.